Transitions
by shannygoat
Summary: Cowritten with TheRealKellyAnne. A single mother, who lives her life for her son, finds love with a man that lives his life for himself. When her lover and her child fight for her attention, what's a woman to do? OC, Randy Orton. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Transitions

Rating: NC-17 for language, strong sexual content, adult themes

Disclaimer: We do not know, own or endorse any of the characters except any original characters that may come about in this work of fiction; the rest of the characters belong to WWE. These characters are loosely based off of their TV personas. Thank you for not suing.

A/N: This is story is co-written with one of the coolest chicks I know, TheRealKellyAnne. We both have a few things on our plates, so I can't say how often we'll get around to updating, but we're having fun writing it and really that's all that matters.

Thank you for taking the time to check us out and we hope you enjoy! R&R

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Prologue 

You know, sometimes I wonder why the hell things work out like they do. Like, how did I get to this point in my life and things like that? I know that if I had the answers to those kinds of questions, I would be a powerful wizard indeed. But sometimes, even though I know I'll never know, I can't help but to question.

For example, if anyone would have told me that I would meet, date, fall in love with, and get my heart broken by Randy Orton, I would have told them they were a damn lie. First of all, there was no way on God's green earth a man like _that_ would be interested in a girl like _me. _Not that there's anything wrong with me. I mean, I'm smart, and fun. I like to think I'm alright looking – nothing to write home about, but you understand... I'm a safe girl. I do what I'm supposed to do. I work, pay my taxes, pay most of my bills on time. I go to church every Sunday and help out my elderly neighbor across the hall.

See what I mean? I'm safe. I pose no threat. I'm not exotic or erotic. I'm not flashy; hell, you have to have money to be flashy and that's one thing I don't have. So tell me, how in the fuck did I end up where I am now?

Randy Orton isn't what I would consider a safe man. Not that he's dangerous or anything; but...he's fine. Not just that, "oh he's fine" kinda thing either. No…I mean he's FINE!!! He's the type of man that makes heads turn and he's got a body that can make a nun blush. He's the type of guy that makes you want him to tie you up and spank you when you're naughty. Get my drift? A safe girl like me shouldn't want to be tied up and spanked by a fine ass man like that.

So by now, you're probably wondering what in the hell I'm talking about, right? Well trust me, you wouldn't believe me. Hell, it happened to me and I don't believe it most of the time. But it's the truth and I'm sticking to it.

You know, looking back on things, I probably shouldn't have let Jaxon talk me into being the chaperone to that stupid wrestling show anyway. I don't even really like wrestling; not anymore, anyway. I'm an old school girl. I liked Tito Santana, Ricky Steamboat, Lex Luger, Barry Windham…you know, those old guys. These new upstarts, I don't really know too much about, only what Jaxon tells me.

Oh, I didn't tell you about Jaxon did I? Well Jaxon's my little boy. He's the apple of my eye, the light of my life, the sun in my sky…the pain in my ass. Jaxon is my ten year old son. I guess before I get into that whole Randy part of the story, I should really tell you the Jaxon part of the story first and if I do that, I gotta tell you about Travis. Do things in order, that's what I'm always preaching to my son. I guess I should take my own advice.

Well, let's see…when I was sixteen I met this guy. Now I know, sixteen is not the age where your brain rules your life. At sixteen you're run by your hormones and believe me, Travis Williams had my hormones jumping all over the place. I thought I was hot shit with him. Let me tell you about Travis…

Travis was tall, dark, and handsome. He was from New York and had this sexy accent. Like the way he said coffee and laundry just made me giggle. And he was older. He was nineteen when I first met him. He's a medium brown with dark brown eyes and curly hair. He always said he had Indian in his family and that's how he got good hair. I didn't really give a shit about all that. All I knew was he was fucking gorgeous. And he didn't seem to care that I had boring mousy brown hair and boring ass blue eyes. He didn't notice that I was a plain Jane.

All my friends thought I was such hot shit because I had a black boyfriend. I guess it was a phase we were all going through. When he came to Baltimore, he brought that New York vibe that we thought was so cool. He introduced me to the Wu-Tang Clan and shit like that. My friends had never heard of a fucking Wu-Tang Clan before. And let me tell you, being one of fifteen white girls in the class of 1998 from City College High School and being with Travis gave me mad props. I had managed to be invisible my first two years there and then when I hooked up with Travis, I made it to super-star status.

It was just one of those right place at the right time things. I was working at Foot Locker, in East Point and poof…like something out of a Blacksploitation movie, in walked this cool drink of something. So anyway, he flirted, asked for my number, and the rest was history. We started dating and before I knew it, I was his girl. Oh, I didn't just jump into bed with him either. I was sixteen for God's sake. No…it took two whole weeks before that happened. And let me tell you, he rocked my world. But then again, I was sixteen and didn't know what the fuck I was doing anyway.

Well, we dated all through my junior year. He would pick me up everyday in his Infinity Q-45. All those bitches in high school were either scheming on how to steal my man or trying to be my friend. And it just so happened that my mortal enemy, this bitch named Patrice, that I've hated since fifth grade, found a way into Travis' bed.

Needless to say, we broke up. And guess what happened? Three weeks after we broke up, I call him crying my eyes out because I'm pregnant. My parents went ape-shit. Not only did they not know that Travis was nineteen, they also didn't know he was black. Talk about a nuclear meltdown in family values. They all but packed my pregnant ass up and shipped me out of the house.

Travis was really good about it though; for a while anyway. See…I moved in with him and we tried to make it work. At least, I did. Unfortunately, he still had this habit of fucking other girls. I didn't find out until later that he had been fucking other girls the whole time we were together. But what finally did it was when this one girl called my fucking apartment and told me that she was pregnant by his sorry ass, too.

That did it, I was done with him. But I was nine months pregnant and really, where the fuck was I gonna go? Long story short, I had the baby and as soon as I looked into Jaxon's eyes, I knew that he deserved more than his piece of shit father was going to give him. So, I called up my mom and as soon as she saw him, she felt the same way. My folks let me and Jaxon come back home, my mom watched him so I could finish high school and as soon as I did. I got a little bullshit job as temporary help at a mail tracking plant. That actually turned into a full time job with benefits with the Post Office and there you have it. I had a job and benefits and free daycare. I was able to move out, get an apartment, and take care of my son on my own.

Jaxon Williams is my everything. My little boy is truly my best friend. Hell, we grew up together. When you're twenty six with a ten year old, you really don't know much about being a parent. Me and Jaxon are more like brother and sister…really good friends, landlord and tenant, Will and Grace. Whatever we are, we don't act like mother and son.

Well, in the interest of keeping up the chain of events, Travis moved back to New York. He still gets Jaxon on some holidays and during the summer, which actually turns into being more like a week, when he's supposed to have him for the entire fucking summer. Not that I'm bitter or anything, but that shit pisses me off. I can't make plans or do anything, because sure as hell, he calls after a few days with same old, "sorry something came up…I'm gonna have to send him back home" bullshit. Don't get me wrong, Travis tries to be a good father, I guess. But Jaxon is getting to that age where he needs a man around all the time. Not just a fucking phone call in between Travis fucking his bitches.

Can you tell there's no love lost between me and Travis? For what it's worth, the little checks he sends me help and I haven't had to trip out on his ass or take him downtown since Jaxon was four. But I don't really like him. And I promise you, it's not baby momma drama. He's just a piece of shit and if he gets that boy's hopes up one more time only to disappoint him again, I'm gonna fucking stab him in the throat.

So, I've been raising my boy on my own. And let me tell you, it's no easy feat. But me and Jaxon grew up together. He thinks he's my father, and I let him dictate my life. I mean really, what else I got going on? I'm on the damn PTA, soccer mom extraordinaire, little league manager, den mother, Tae-Kwon-Do Tournament Team fundraising guru…you name it, it's all for Jaxon.

I don't mind really, just kinda over compensating for his piece of shit father. It's been like that for years. It's always been just me and my boy. It's not like I could date if I wanted to. See, my son has cock blocking down to an art form. He just knows when it's that time, it's like he's got radar or some shit. You should see some of the creative ways he's stopped anything good from happening. And it's not like I date a lot either. I've only dated a handful of guys casually through the years, and none of them lasted. Wanna know why? Jaxon Antonio Williams. Guys see him and run the other way. He can turn into the devil's spawn when it comes to me. It's kinda sweet in a sick twisted way. I know he's just looking out for me, but damn. The kid has got to let me grow up sometime.

Okay…I'm getting off topic. I'm supposed to be telling you how I got here with Randy Orton, right? Well, it's really a long story and of course, it's all that Jaxon's doing. So, I suggest you get comfortable and don't ask too many questions. I'm telling you, you're gonna think I'm full of shit when I tell you this story.

But, you said you wanted to hear it. So here it is…


	2. Chapter 2

_Did I just say all of that shit out loud? _This was getting ridiculous; it had to get better. One simple question, "How's life treating you?" and there she was pouring her heart out to old Mrs. Tisdale as if she was really interested in the fucked up mess that her life had become. Mrs. Tisdale had been her regular customer at the Post Office for a little over a year. Every two weeks she'd come in to get a book of stamps and the two would talk about the weather and every other superficial thing there was. But that was before this…before Randy Orton completely shit on everything she thought they were building. Her emotions got the best of her; it had to stop.

Lifting her eyes to survey the customers standing behind Mrs. Tisdale, Amanda Wilcox sighed. Not only did she apparently have every ear in the Post Office perked and ready for the full lowdown but she also noticed that quite the line had formed since she started her five minute rant. Hitting the buzzer for an additional clerk to come to the front to help move these people out of the space, Amanda sighed. "I'm sorry Mrs. Tisdale…I didn't mean to go into all of that."

Placing her small wrinkled hand over Amanda's, Mrs. Tisdale smiled at the young girl in front of her. "I understand honey. My Darren, God rest his soul, would make me pour my heart out to anyone that would listen. You musta had it bad. I can tell by the way your eyes were dancing when you were talking about your beau and the way your lip curled when you talked about your son's father. It was like looking at good vs. evil on your face."

Amanda nodded her head in agreement. "I never felt anything like that before. But you know what? I got my son and that's all that matters."

"Keep telling yourself that baby and maybe one day you'll believe it." Mrs. Tisdale winked at Amanda and laid her money on the counter. "The usual, please."

With a smile, Amanda handed over a book of stamps. "Thanks Mrs. Tisdale. I'll see you in two weeks."

"I wouldn't miss it. And when I come back, I expect to see you smiling because you and that boy you're sweet on patched things up."

Amanda watched as Mrs. Tisdale slowly walked out of the Post Office and hoped to God that what she said was true. Maybe by the time she came back life with Randy would've gone back to what it once was. Lord knows it took a lot for them to get they were, wasn't it supposed to pay off? Deep in thought, Amanda heard the change from a till jingle behind her.

"It's two…you gotta get my boyfriend from school." Dia, Amanda's friend and co-worker, said leaning over the counter.

Amanda nodded. It was life as usual. Taking a second to gather her things, she smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, D."

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If she had any idea that this shit would have ended the way it did, Amanda would have never given Randy Orton the time of day. This was exactly why she didn't want a relationship; not only was it too hard to juggle herself between being a mom and a girlfriend, but she did the one thing she vowed she would never do; have an emotional breakdown in front of her son. She was the only stable parent that Jaxon had and she be damned if she wasn't acting like one of those depressing Children of the Corn types that he and his friends made fun of.

No. She wasn't doing this shit anymore. Fuck Randy Orton. He didn't deserve her or Jaxon. If he couldn't see what he had right in front of him that was his loss and stupidity. But it wouldn't've been so bad if she saw it coming. Like, if they had been arguing or something, but, it just came out of nowhere. Something must have happened to make him completely destroy her like that. It was so out of character for him. Sure, Randy was rough around the edges and it took forever for him to warm up to Jaxon, but he did…he put in the time and she thought things were going great. It didn't make sense. Maybe if she could find the logic in it, it would still hurt so badly. Where did they go wrong? What could she have done differently?

Amanda sat in her car outside of St. Anthony's School waiting for Jaxon to be dismissed as she replayed the events of the last eight months in her mind.

_Jaxon followed Amanda around their apartment holding the newsletter from Chesapeake Dojang in his hand. It wasn't like this was the first time his Tournament Team had made it to the Maryland Regional Tae-Kwon-Do Competition before. But it was the first time the first place prize had been that exciting to the then nine year old boy. "And listen, '…the first place winners secure their spot in the Florida National Championship competition as well as receive four complimentary ring side tickets to WWE Raw, courtesy of Titian Sports'. Do you know what this means, Mom? I'm going to Raw!" _

_Amanda shook her head and walked out of the room. She had a million things to do and listening to Jaxon whine about why she needed to take him to Raw wasn't one of them. Truthfully, she knew that Jaxon's team was good. There were three boys in his belt range that always dominated their competition. Not being one to toot Jaxon's horn, because he would have tooted it louder, but Jaxon was the best. It would be just her luck that his dojang would win against those rank amateurs and somehow she'd get roped into taking him._

_Oh hell no. It was bad enough that she was the sole person keeping Vince McMahon's ass rich between the damn pay-per-views every month and the constant purchase of new action figures…she was going to have to sit through this shit, too? Not happenin' Cap'n._

"_Jax…I'll be there for the tournament, but I'm not taking you to see that show." She wasn't being mean; it was just the way it was. Every morning, she got up at four o'clock to get them ready for the day. Jaxon was dropped off at her mom's by five thirty so she could take him to school and Amanda could get to the Post Office by six o'clock. She was barely hanging on as it was. How in the hell was she supposed to get up and do all that shit, then take him to a wrestling match that didn't end until eleven, on a Monday no less, only to be back up at four? Superwoman was going on strike._

"_Come on Mom, please?" He was still following her around the apartment, as if that was going to make her change her mind. "Sam and Tommy can't go if we don't have a grown up with us."_

"_And neither can you." She left out of the living room and walked toward her bedroom still being followed by that child. She always hated when he would try to trap her in a room to talk to her. Why couldn't they just worry about this after he won the tournament? For all Jaxon knew, the other teams may have actually gotten their collective shit together and come out on top…then they'd be having this conversation for nothing. _

"_So that's why you have to do it." He made that face that Travis use to make. It was that face he used when he tried to convince Amanda to do something she didn't want to. And then he started to whine. "Nobody else's mom's can go. You have to…please?"_

"_Jax, please? I'm tired. I just walked in the door. You've got homework, I have to cook dinner. I don't have time for this right now."_

"_But Mom…"_

"_Jaxon! Boy, if you don't leave me the hell alone! Maybe Pop-Pop could take you. You haven't even won the tickets yet. We'll worry about it later." She tried to divert her eyes, but he pulled out the big guns. He hit her with the sad face, the one where he poked his bottom lip out and broke her damn heart. The boy was nine years old; she had been falling for that damn pout for nine years. _

"_Pop-Pop's gonna say no." Jaxon wasn't angry, more like disappointed. He knew that if his mom didn't take him, he could kiss seeing his idols, Jeff Hardy and John Cena, goodbye. "Can, I ask my Dad to take me? He said he's coming down for my match anyway." _

_That was a bad idea from the word, go. Travis had never been the most reliable person in the world. Amanda seriously doubted that he was even going to show up for the tournament. But she shrugged instead of breaking the harsh reality to Jaxon. She always had a problem with telling him just how sorry his father was. For some reason she feed into that superhero image thing that Jaxon had of Travis, knowing full well that half the time that bastard wasn't going to make an attempt. She just couldn't bring herself to break Jaxon's heart._

_It had always been like that. Even when Travis promised something and then bailed on the last minute, there she was, picking up the pieces, scrambling around trying to cover his ass. She couldn't afford half of the shit that he promised his son…like when he told him we was getting him an iPod for his birthday and night before, he called and said he couldn't get it. There Amanda was the next day, cashing in her savings bonds trying to get him the top of the line model and all the attachments that his father promised him. It was fucked up, but what could she do to change it? Maybe one day Travis would off his ass and be a fucking father._

"_Well, I suggest you call him then, cause I'm not doing it. Or you could call Pop-Pop and see what he says." She walked away from that damn pouty lip. She was NOT taking him. She didn't like wrestling nor was she the least bit interested in seeing Ric Flair after all of these years in trunks. She had to put her foot down sometime._

"_Fine." He stormed off in search for the phone, acting like the ungrateful little brat that he could sometimes be. "Hey Dad." He had the nerve to put Travis' ass on speakerphone as if that was going to make her change her mind._

"_What's up, Lil' Man?" Travis' voice still gives her chills sometimes. But when she thought about the face attached to that voice and all of the shit that that absentee face brought with it and those chills went away with the quickness._

"_You're still coming to my tournament, right?"_

"_Uh-huh." _

_Amanda cringed. She knew that dismissive "uh-huh" far too well. He had no intention of coming. _

"_When we win, we get tickets to see Raw and you know how's Cena's the man and all? Well, Mom said she's not gonna take me…so can you?" Jaxon had his fingers crossed. It was amazing; no matter how many times Travis had let him down in the past, the child still thought the sun shined from out of his ass._

_Travis paused. Amanda could almost imagine his face. She knew he was trying to think of an excuse to tell him that he couldn't come. But never wanting to look like the bad guy in Jaxon's eyes, he caved. And why not? He knew that Amanda would cover for him. "Yeah, I'll take you. Look, Lil' Man, I gotta get ready for work. I'll call you later, okay?"_

_Jaxon was about to jump out his skin he was so excited. "Okay. Thanks Dad. It's gonna be off the hook!"_

Amanda looked up with a smile on her face. Jaxon and his little friends were heading out of the building wearing their matching green short sleeve shirts and khaki walking shorts. No matter how much she to sacrifice, just seeing him so happy was worth it. Everything from his bronze complexion to his round brown eyes made it worth it to her. Jaxon was her little boy, her buddy. He was a good kid that deserved the world, even at the expense of her heart.

It wasn't Jaxon's fault that on the day of the tournament all of a sudden Travis' "car broke down" and it was too late to catch a train to Bowie, to watch his son's team win. Nor was Jaxon to blame that Travis suddenly "had to work a double" the night of Raw, leaving him without a chaperone. But she could blame him for the fact that there were three boys sitting on her couch with tears in their eyes, whining and pouting because there was no other adult to take them. And then he wanted to stick around to get autographs…yeah, that part was Jaxon's fault. If they would've just gotten in the car to leave, she never would have met _him_ and started that weird ass relationship that left her broken now.

"Hey, Boop." She smiled as when he opened the car door and took a seat. "How was school?"

"I'm telling you, Mom, old people are crazy. I think my teacher's losing her mind." He placed his backpack on the seat next to him before using the head rest of the seat in front of him to hoist himself forward. He leaned over the seat and planted a kiss on Amanda's cheek. "How 'bout you? How was your day?"

It was getting better or at least that what she told herself. "I can't complain. Put your seatbelt on."

"Have you heard from Randy yet?" Jaxon peered around the seat and noticed how the smile his mother was wearing faded and watched as she shook her head. "Well, screw him. You don't need him anyway. You got me!" He smiled at the knowledge that he was all the man that she ever need.

"Oh joy…" She answered dryly, "and watch your damn mouth." Looking at her son in the review mirror, Amanda poked her tongue out at him.

Convinced that his mother was another crazy old person, Jaxon shook his head and looked out the window. "Whatever, lady."


	3. Chapter 3

"I got it!" Jaxon ran to the telephone and picked up the receiver. He knew his mom was cooking dinner and truthfully, he was hungry. He wasn't willing to delay his stomach for a few minutes so she could stop and answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Lil' Man…how's it going?" Travis's distinct voice rang through the phone.

Jaxon took the cordless into his bedroom and closed the door. The last thing he needed was for his mom to get upset that his dad was calling. She seemed to be really upset with him lately and the fact that he was calling more often didn't help. "Nothing. What about you?"

"Nothing much. I thought I'd come get you this weekend. Your grandma's been asking about you." Travis didn't see the need to clear things with Amanda first. He just told Jaxon all of the things he wanted to do and after he got his son's hopes up, he'd tell Amanda. It worked in his favor, if she said no, then she'd have to deal with Jaxon's whining. It didn't matter to him…he still got what he wanted.

As much as Jaxon loved spending time with his father and having his grandmother spoil him rotten, he didn't know if that was such a good idea. "I don't know…I'm worried about Mom."

"What's wrong with your mother?" Travis's voice grew concerned. Amanda was the epitome of strength. She didn't get sick, she didn't get scared, she didn't get angry…not since Jaxon was born. She was everything for him. No matter what she was feeling, she never showed it. She was always strong around Jaxon. "Is she okay?"

With a shrug, the boy lined up his action figures on his computer desk, posing them as if they were about to take promo shots. "I don't know. She broke up with Randy."

"Ahh. She'll be alright." _Randy_. That fucker. Travis didn't know what the fuck she saw in him anyway. How dare he act like Jaxon's father, even if he claimed he wasn't. Travis wasn't stupid. He noticed the way that Jaxon would talk about Randy more often, telling him how Randy flew them out to different places to see the wrestling matches. And Jaxon told him all about how they got to hang out backstage and meet the guys. Shit…Travis had three other children. Why didn't they get the same treatment that Jaxon did? It was because Randy Orton was trying to replace him, that's why.

"Jax? Come on so you can eat…" Jaxon looked up at the sound of his mother's voice. He was hungry and it was Sloppy Joe night. As much as he wanted to talk to his father, it wasn't more than he wanted a Sloppy Joe. "Dad, I gotta eat dinner. I'll call you after I do my homework."

"Alright. Ask your mom about this weekend, so I know what to tell your grandmother." He would have asked her himself, but their last conversation hadn't been a good one. He wasn't hurt, more like embarrassed. Talking to Amanda wasn't something he was ready to do yet.

Jaxon walked the hall with the phone and stopped just outside of the dining room. "Okay. I'll talk to you later." He placed the phone in the cradle and sat at the table, avoiding his mother's eyes. "It was Tommy. We were talking about ECW." She didn't ask, but he felt guilty talking to his father about her. He had to change the subject and fast. "This looks good. I love Sloppy Joes."

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Dinner had been mostly quiet. Well, it was on his mom's end anyway. She just sat there while he rambled about everything that happened at school. He told her how his little girlfriend, Ashley, sat next to him at an assembly and that he shared his bag of Doritos and a juice box with her and not once did his mom complain. Usually when he told her about sharing his lunch with Ashley, she would go off on this 'I don't have money for you to be feeding your women' speech. But this time, she just nodded and kept that phony smile on her face.

He was trying to do everything in his power to make her happy. In the 10 years that he had known her, he had never seen her quite like this. Sure, she dated a few guys before, but she wasn't really broken up when they stopped seeing each other. Why was Randy Orton so special? He was a jerk, at least he use to be…but that didn't matter. He wasn't as cool as his dad, Travis, was. Sure Randy had money and a really cool car, but he was still _Randy_.

It didn't matter how happy he made his mom, Randy was trying to take his place. Not that his mom showed any favoritism or anything. But there use to be a time when she was excited about something Jaxon was the first person she told…that changed. She would call _Randy_ first and by the time Jaxon heard about it she wasn't nearly as excited. And those late nights when he would get up to go the bathroom and end up snuggled with her in her bed, that changed too. Randy was gone most of the time, but when he was there, _he_ was snuggled up in bed with his mom. Jaxon was way more cuddly than Randy could ever be, and cuter too. Why would she choose to snuggle with _him_ instead? And then it was the kisses. She always smothered Jaxon with kisses…until _Randy_ told her that a boy his age gets embarrassed when his mom kisses him up in front of his boys. Jaxon didn't mind the kisses; that woman had been kissing him for years. But what really burned Jaxon up was _Randy_ didn't seem to mind when his mom kissed _him_ up in front of _his_ friends.

He had never seen his mother happier and that scared him. It had always been the two of them and then he had to share her. It could have been worse, Randy could've been the kind of guy that hurt her all the time like his friend's dad did to his mom. But Randy wasn't like that. It still didn't make Jaxon feel any better.

He should have never asked to stay for autographs. All of this could've been avoided if he would have just listened to his mother. He would never tell her that…that, 'I told you to listen to me' speech, he could do without. But it didn't stop the fact that he was feeling she might have had a point.

_"Awww come on Mom, just a few more minutes?" Jaxon's world was going to end if he didn't wait to see John Cena come out of the backdoor. The show had been amazing; it was the first time he had ever been to Raw. Most of the time Smackdown came to Baltimore and though he was a Batista and Undertaker fan, nothing was like Raw! He had to get Cena's autograph, Jeff Hardy's would've been nice too, but Cena's was a must. _

_Amanda shook her head. She was tired, she was up past her bedtime, broke from the amount of shit he needed to buy and had a huge fucking headache from the pyros. Yet that boy still wanted more. Didn't he realize she had to get up for work in the morning? Sure, he didn't have school, but the Post Office didn't give Christmas vacation._

_"Yeah Miss Amanda, we have off from school tomorrow." Sam was the second cutest boy in the world, but at eleven thirty at night…not so much. He knew damn well that his mom would have packed his little ass up in her minivan before the last match started. _

_"Please Mom? I'll clean my room and everything…" Jaxon had perfected that whine from the time he was able to talk. "Can we stay for just a few minutes? We just wanna get some autographs? I promise tomorrow I'll clean my room and the kitchen. Sam and Tommy will help. PLEASE Mommy?!?"_

_Damn that boy and his cute puppy dog eyed friends, too. How in the hell was she supposed to say no when Jaxon called her Mommy? He hadn't called her Mommy in almost 2 years. He thought he wouldn't look cool to his friends if he called her Mommy. Nowadays, Mom or Ma were his words of choice. Ma… like he was some freaking gansta pimp or something._ _Against her better judgment, she listened to his pleading. He and his evil friends were whining and begging, slowly breaking down her big wall of NO. It was pitiful_. _Absolutely pitiful. Vacation or not, it was going on midnight. They needed to be in bed. Well really, she needed to be in bed, but it sounded better if she blamed it on them._

_"All right, enough begging! One autograph and that's it, then we're going home. And when we get home, the three of you go better go to bed. And that room and that kitchen better be sparkling tomorrow. You got me?"_

_The three boys nodded their heads in unison while she braced herself for a long night. It would be her luck that Cena would be the last one to come out. She knew those boys were full of shit. They didn't have school for a week and somehow she got roped into a sleepover, too. Who the hell was she kidding? Nobody was going to sleep anytime soon at her house any time soon._

_After waiting for what seemed like forever with about a hundred other screaming fans, Amanda had just about enough. Stifling a yawn, she turned to her son. "Look Jax…I don't think he's coming. Let's go. I'm tired."_

_Jaxon rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Mom, you're always tired. You need to take better care of yourself." _

_She had to shut her mouth before she cussed his little ass out. If there weren't laws against child abuse, she would have knocked his damn head off. She was up that late and tired because of him and his friends when she had to get up in a few hours to go to work…jerk._

_She snapped out of the hundred of inappropriate things to say to one's child by the deafening sound of WOOs coming from the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, Amanda noticed the door open and the WWE Superstars began to trickle out. It wouldn't have been so bad but Sam, Tommy and Jaxon nearly burst her ear drums with their shrill ass, little girl screams. Between Sam's voice changing and Jaxon's piss poor Flair imitation, she was sure she was losing her fucking mind._

_Really, what was all the hype about? Sure, some of the guys coming out weren't half bad looking, but when she could hear her bed calling her name from across town, it really wasn't that impressive. Even unimpressed, the fact that Jaxon was excited was enough to put a smile on her face._

_Amanda looked around the once happy crowd and noticed people with their thumbs down, booing. They were just singing the praises of some overweight hillbilly type with horrible side burns a moment ago. Now they were booing this young guy that was kind of cute. And it wasn't the ordinary boo, either. No, this was a loud, giving you death threats, kind of boo. Even the boys chimed in…but not Jaxon. _

_Jaxon stood there, wide eyed with a huge ass smile. That had to mean that this guy was either Jeff Hardy or John Cena. But, Amanda remembered that Jaxon said Hardy had multi colored hair…and this guy had a buzz cut. Yup, it was Cena. Not bad…not bad looking at all._

_Jaxon stood there with his mouth hanging open to the floor and his little hand shaking holding out his Chaingang baseball cap. It was the cutest damn thing Amanda had ever seen. "Can I have your autograph Mr. Cena?" Jaxon whispered. _

_"Sure kid, what's your name?" John asked with a smile. He waited patiently as Jaxon stood there completely dumbfounded. Even Amanda looked over at him and laughed when she realized that he couldn't remember._

_Amanda took pity on the child. Here his idol was standing in front of him and he was stuck on stupid. "It's Jaxon...with an X." She noticed the strange look John gave to her but she laughed it off. "This is Jaxon, Sam, and Tommy." She pointed to each child as she introduced them. _

_"Jaxon huh, that's a cool name. Here ya go, kid. And make sure to thank your babysitter for bringing you to the show." John flashed his dimpled smile at Amanda and winked. _

_Jaxon was normally the one to correct people when they made that mistake, but he was too star struck to notice. And if Jaxon didn't correct him, she wasn't going to. The last thing she needed was for him to start complaining that she had to go all 'Ms. Correct-all' on his favorite wrestler. It wasn't worth the aggravation. Besides, she was use to it. Jaxon looked nothing like her. He was much darker than she was, but much lighter than Travis. But other than that, he resembled Travis' family. If she hadn't been there for the nineteen hours of labor, she wouldn't have thought she had anything to do with him. _

_Thank God. Jaxon had his autograph, now they could go the hell home. Amanda yawned again and thanked Cena. He turned to another guy that walked out of the building and looked at his watch. "Dude, let's get this moving. They're dropping like flies here."_

_She'd be damned if she wasn't yawning again like a narcoleptic when the other man turned around. "I take it it's past your bedtime?" He had a nice, deep voice and was tall, with dark hair and blue eyes. He had this dimple in the middle of his chin and these cheekbones…all Amanda could do was say, "how you doin', boo?" to herself. Damn he was fine. And then he smirked._

_What the hell was it about that smirk? Damned if she remembered. Here's what she could remember; her stomach. Her stomach felt like it was doing back flips. And her knees felt like they were giving out. She felt flushed and it appeared that her brain stopped working. What the fuck was up with that? She couldn't have been star struck, she didn't know who the fuck this guy was._

"_Were you looking for somebody to put you to bed, or were you waiting out here because you wanted my autograph?" The man with the infectious smirk looked her up and down and his smirk got wider. She was really cute, not so much sexy; pretty, as opposed to beautiful… Definitely not one of those ring rat types. She was wearing a leather jacket, scarf, jeans and boots…nothing flashy. Her hair was pulled up in this clip of some sort and the cutest little schoolboy-framed glasses rested on her nose. He had been with much more attractive women in his day, but he could tell by the look on her face that she had no idea who in the hell he was. That made her extremely desirable._

_"Come on. I'm tired. I want to go home." Jaxon whined and grabbed Amanda's arm, but he never took his eyes off of the man in front of him. Jaxon's eyes darted between his mother and this chump as he pieced together what was happening. They were sharing 'a moment'. No one checked out his mom. No one. For the past 9 years it had been just Amanda and Jaxon. And that was the way he liked it. But judging from the looks of things, this schmuck just might try to change that._

"_Jaxon…you're being rude. This guy asked if you want his autograph." She still didn't know who the fuck he was, but apparently he was autograph worthy. They didn't have male models on wrestling, did they? _

_Jaxon felt his lip start to twitch and his heart rate speed up. He didn't like the way this guy was looking at his mother. It was pissing him off. He started pull on Amanda's arm to lead her in the direction that they were parked. "I don't want his autograph. Randy Orton's a heel. He's also a jerk and a juicehead!"_

_Randy Orton looked down at the kid pulling on the girl that he was trying to talk to. Kids sucked. They were annoying little bastards that didn't know when to shut the hell up. All kids were obnoxious fuckers and this one was no different. It didn't matter how cute they were or how well he knew their parents, kids were a pain in his ass. "You shouldn't get in grown folks' conversations, kid." He curled up his lip and narrowed his eyes at the young boy._

_If Amanda could have put him up for adoption at that very moment, she would have. Way to cock block there, Jaxon…if it was up to him, she was going to be celibate for the rest of her life. "Please ignore him. He's just tired…incredibly rude, but tired."_

"_I'm not that tired. Orton's a jerk." Jaxon narrowed his eyes right back. This guy, Randy Orton, had no idea who he was dealing with. "Can we leave, please?"_

"_How about you leave and let me talk to the nice lady that brought you here?" That was another thing about children…they made him act childish. He always had to sink down to their ignorant ass level. He wasn't going to be out talked or cock blocked by a whiney ass brat. _

_Amanda looked at her son and noticed how uncomfortable he was. "He's right…we should get going. Thanks for the autograph offer though." _

_Randy Orton watched as they turned and melted into the crowd. There was no way in hell that kid was going to win. He turned around and spotted one of the interns and said a few words to him before picking up his bag and heading to his rental car._

_A very pissed Jaxon was now dragging Amanda to the car. He shot evil eyes at his friends while they made fun of him because Orton was trying to pick up his mom. His mom was way too classy for Orton, anyway. Even if she was old and couldn't sing and made corny jokes all the time. She was out of Orton's league._

_"Excuse me, Miss!" Amanda turned toward the sound of a voice yelling at her. "Miss, please! I need to talk to you!" A young man wearing a satin WWE jacket ran up to her and bent over to catch his breath._

_She peered into the back seat of the car and noticed that the boys were too busy looking at all of the crap they got to notice this guy running. "Can I help you?" _

"_Mr. Orton wanted me to give you this. It was all I could get from catering." He handed her a cup of coffee and placed two packets of sugar and one miniature cream in her other hand. "He said 'since he can't tuck you in, you might as well stay awake.' He also wanted me to get your name and number." The boy panted as he tried to catch his breath. _

"_You have got to be kidding me? What is he, twelve? One, I don't drink coffee. Two, if he wants my number he can ask for it his damn self." Why were the fine ones also fucking stupid? Amanda handed the coffee back to the intern and offered him a smile. "Go tell that to Mr. Orton."_

"_So? You gonna give it to me or not?" Another voice lifted Amanda's glare from the intern. Randy Orton was standing on the other side of her car with that same damn smirk on his face. _

_It was a bad idea and she knew it. It wasn't like he was going to call her anyway. She was Amanda Wilcox, who the fuck was that? But for shits and giggles, she shook her head and laughed. "I must be fucking crazy." She wrote her info on a piece of paper and handed it to the intern. _

Jaxon had finished his homework, loaded the dishwasher, and taken his shower. He knocked on his mother's door and peeked his head inside. "Good night, Mom." He said quietly.

"Night, Jax." She tried to contain her sniffle, but she had been thinking about Randy all day. When the fuck was she getting over this? Two weeks and she was still crying about it. She didn't cry over guys. Everything was about Jaxon; she didn't have time to have emotions about anything else.

Jaxon walked over to her bed and gave her a hug. "Don't cry. I still love you." It use to a time when that was enough…but now he wasn't so sure that he could make her as happy as Randy did. She was happy with him, but not the same kind of happy that she was with Randy.

"I'm fine, Jax. And I love you, too."

Jaxon retreated to his bedroom and grabbed the phone. He was pissed and didn't care if he got in trouble for letting him know. As soon as he heard his voice on the other end, he started his rant. "Randy, you loser... I don't know what you did to make my mom cry, but you better take it back. Or, I'm gonna kick your ass."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: If Jaxon seems to be waivering between being childish and "grown", it's because he's based off of my son. Croix is an old soul when it comes to relationships, but most other times, he's 9 going on 6. __One day, we'll figure it out; but if nothing else, he's entertaining._

_And on behalf of TheRealKellyAnne and I, we just want to say thanks for all of the reviews. We're really working hard on this, emailing each other when we should be doing actual work at work...but it's all good. We appreciate the reviews and that you guys are feeling this story. We're having a good time writing and talking about it...it's Randy; what's not to enjoy?_

* * *

Amanda took a good hard look at herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked like shit. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose put Rudolph's to shame, her hair looked like a rat's nest…was this what a broken heart looked like? She knew what it felt like, but damn. Did it have to show on her face too? Not even splashing cold water on her face helped. That rosy tint to her cheeks was long gone and so was that sparkle in her intense blue eyes. All that was left was the tired, puffy eyed, haggard looking woman staring back at her in the mirror. 

She clicked off the bathroom light and made her way to the hall. She had to pack Jaxon's lunch, iron his school uniform and her work clothes, sign his permission slip, leave him money for liturgy, make sure his dobak was clean and presentable, and take his sparing pads from out of the drier. Then after that was done, she'd check on him, make sure his television was turned off, and then she could finally get some sleep. That is, _if_ she could stop crying.

Being a single parent wasn't easy, especially not when she didn't feel up to doing all the shit that needed to be done. It was times like this that she wished she could just punch Travis in his damn mouth. He didn't have to be responsible, but a few times a year. He had all the time in the world to feel whatever in the hell he was feeling. But Amanda? No…for the most part, she was mother _and_ father to Jaxon. She didn't get a break.

After performing all of her choirs and then some, everything was settled. Jaxon would have a fit about having a pepperoni sandwich on white bread instead of potato bread, but he'd get over it. She forgot to stop by the market on the way home. Big deal. She knew the amount of shit she was dealing with, one missed trip to the grocery store wasn't the end of the world. Yet somehow, she knew that her dear, sweet son wouldn't see it that way.

She grabbed the hanger with his clothes on it and made her way to his bedroom. True to form, Jaxon's bedroom light was still shining from under his door. It wasn't like she didn't remind him _every day_ to make sure to turn out his light. With the electric company raising rates by fifty percent, she didn't have money to be illuminating his bedroom when he was asleep. And sure enough, that damn television was blasting through the door, too. How many times had she told him about using the timer? _He_ was the one that showed her how to use it.

She wasn't going to go in there fussing and wake him up because that would only mean that he would start whining and then eventually end up falling asleep in her bed. No…she'd get into it in the morning, even though he would deny that he had left either on. Just as she turned the handle, she heard his voice. It was going on ten o'clock and Jaxon should have been asleep. And judging by his tone of voice, he wasn't up playing with his action figures.

"You better be so lucky that you're bigger than me because I'd pedigree your ass and then put you in the FU. Then who would be crying, punk?" Jaxon yelled into the receiver. He wasn't listening to anything that Randy said. His only mission was to get Randy to apologize.

"Jaxon, you need to calm down." Randy's voice rang through the phone.

"Well you need to stop being such a jerk and say you're sorry. My mom's been nice to you, loser. She really likes you and I don't know why because you're not half as cool as my dad is. My dad doesn't make her cry." Jaxon adjusted himself on his pillows as he wrote out a list of reasons why his father was better for his mother than Randy Orton was. "And my dad can fight. He doesn't get his ass beat on TV in front of everybody like you do."

Amanda swung open the door and glared at her son. "Jaxon Antonio Williams!" She couldn't even think of anything else to say to him, she was just that pissed.

Jaxon's eyes were huge. He knew he was going to get in trouble for this, but it was worth it. If Randy apologized, then his mom would stop being so sad. But then again, there was that little issue of the few bad words that she might have heard. "What? I'm gonna make him say he's sorry." He waved his hand at her as if to tell her to wait and see.

"Give me the phone." She held her hand out and rolled her eyes at him. "And get your ass in that damn bed."

"Fine." Jaxon's reign of terror was temporarily delayed, but it was far from over. "You're lucky…live in fear." He said to Randy before handing the phone over.

"I'll deal with you in a minute." Amanda took the phone and walked out into the hallway. She took a deep breath before putting it up to her ear. "I'm sorry he called you."

Randy's voice was soft coming across the line and the concern was audible. "Nah…it's fine. He said you've been crying. Are you okay?"

Why was he doing this? _He_ broke her heart. She was crying because of _him_. "Don't act like you care." She couldn't think of anything else to say. He had said it all when he ended their relationship. He told her how he _really_ felt, so what was the use in talking about it now? "Jaxon won't be calling you again."

"Mandy…"

She hung up the phone and rested her back against the wall. Talking to Randy had never been hard before. Not even from their first real conversation had she stumbled. But now, just hearing his voice was the hardest thing she had ever done.

_"Next please." Amanda called the next person on line to her station. Working for the post office had its perks; she could retire by the age of 55, made pretty decent money, and great health benefits. Her bosses were flexible with her schedule when it came to Jaxon and she had been fortunate to make a few friends there through the years. But no matter how much she loved her job, it had its downside. Christmas. During the holidays it was a madhouse. The lines snaked around the building from open to close, people were cranky and downright rude at times, as if they were the only ones that had holiday shit to do. Did anybody care that she still had gifts to buy? Were they concerned that Travis promised Jaxon a PS3 and most likely wouldn't deliver? She doubted that any of the evil asses in line were going to dig up six hundred dollars to make sure that her kid wasn't disappointed on Christmas morning. "You…on the cell phone…are you getting something?" _

_As Amanda called out yet again for the next person to come up to her register, she could feel the fatigue setting in. She shouldn't have staying out all night with Jaxon and his friends. She could barely keep her eyes open and dealing with the mad Christmas rush wasn't doing much for her current mood. Neither was the fact that when she got home, Jaxon had a football game. There would be no sleep in the near future and it pissed her off._

_When the man made his approach she didn't greet him with her normal smile. Instead, she rested her weight on one leg and stared blankly at him. It was at that point that Amanda felt something inside of her snap. Maybe it was the pressure of the holidays. Maybe it was her lack of sleep from last night's adventures at Raw. Amanda wasn't sure what it was, all she knew was that the idiot in front of her waited a good half hour on line for a freaking book of stamps when there was a perfectly good stamp machine by the front door. And what was worse was, she couldn't figure out why she cared._

_"I'm going on break." Amanda said abruptly and walked away from the counter. She didn't give a shit about the groans from the line as she stepped out of her station. She was doing this for their own good. If she didn't get the hell away for a few minutes, she was liable to take a hostage. _

_No sooner did she settle down at the break room table and mange to place her head on her folded arms did her cell phone ring. That's all she needed. All she wanted to do was to take a fifteen minute nap, but of course it wouldn't work out that way. "Hello?" _

_She could hear the rustling of paper in the background as the person on the other end of the phone answered her. "Yeah… is this Amanda?"_

_"Who's this?" She could hear the annoyance in her own voice. _

_"It's Randy." He said it like she should have known exactly who he was._

_"Randy, who? Do I know you?" Amanda was tired; damn tired. She didn't have time to play this little guessing game with the person on the phone._

_Randy who? What the hell? What did she mean, Randy who? "Randy Orton."_

"_Okay?" If this was telemarketer, she was going to fuck this guy up. She didn't know anything more about who was on the phone than before she asked his name. But since he wasn't offering anymore conversation, she decided she wouldn't protest. She only had fifteen minutes and she wasn't wasting it telling some guy trying to sell her something exactly what he could do with his product. "I don't know if that's supposed to mean anything to me, but I think you might have the wrong number. And by chance you don't, I'm not interested in whatever you're selling."_

_Randy had gotten a multitude of reactions from women throughout his career, but never once had he had a woman hang up on him. He sat in his hotel room, looking at his phone for a minute. It actually took some time for it to register to him, but this chick had actually hung up the phone. Shaking his head, he dialed her again. One thing was for sure, Amanda would never forget who he was again, even if he had to bang her until the sun came up. By the time it was all said and done, she would be saying his name repeatedly._

_As soon as her phone rang again, Amanda answered it with a vengeance. "Listen, Randy…I told you I'm not interested. Don't call me again." _

"_You always so hostile?" _

"_What?" Why was she even talking to this guy? The last time she'd made the mistake of talking to someone who dialed the wrong number, she figured out with the quickness that he was a fucking lunatic. "I don't know which Amanda you're trying to get, but I'm not her."_

_It was like a game to him. He was annoying her and breaking her down would be the fun part. "Then why'd you give me your number last night?" _

"_I didn't give you my number." She thought back to what she had done the night before. Cooked dinner, took Jaxon to Raw, waited around for autographs, get chased by some intern…gave her number to this cute guy that Jaxon said was a juice head… "Oh wait. Are you that guy from the Arena?"_

_That guy from the Arena? What the fuck was that? "I'm not that guy from the Arena, I'm thee guy from the Arena. You really don't know who I am, do you?"_

"_Oh…" Amanda was less than impressed. Sure he was cute, but so were a lot of other people that didn't call her in the middle of her break. "I don't know. You're the guy that got his friend to get my number like you were in fucking fifth grade or something. How am I doing so far?"_

_Cute and spunky. He could work with that. "I'll give that to you. It wasn't one of my smoothest approaches."_

"_Well thank God for that. I thought that was as smooth as you got." Looking up at the clock again, Amanda cursed herself for ever giving him her number to begin with. Her break was damn near over and she still hadn't gotten to take a catnap. "Did you want something? Because I have things to do."_

"_I thought I could make my lack of smoothness up to you. I want to take you to lunch. I have an autograph signing today around two, so if you could drop by my hotel now that would be great." If Randy had one thing going for him, it would be his balls. They were huge. His intentions were simple; get her to come to the hotel, bang her, and get her to leave. It would kill a couple of hours before the autograph session._

_Standing up from the table, Amanda stretched. Her break was officially over and she needed to get back out to enjoy the inner workings of the United States Postal Service. "Ahh…no."_

_"I'm sorry? Did you just say no?" Not only had she hung up on him, but she had the nerve to turn him down. Didn't this woman know who he was? No…she didn't. That was the problem. _

_"Yes." Walking slowly toward the front counter, Amanda yawned. "Look, Randy; I've gotta get back to work. Thanks for the phone call."_

_Damn regular people with their real jobs. "Come on…it's just lunch. You gotta eat, right?" He couldn't believe she was making him chase her. Who did Amanda Wilcox think she was? Had she known who he was, then his reputation would have spoken for him. Now it was his mission to literally charm the pants off of this woman._

"_Yeah…I eat, but I don't date. And I really gotta go." _

_"Come on…one lunch." _

_Just what she needed, fine and persistent. Why didn't he understand that her life didn't have time to deal with him? "Fine…I get a lunch break at eleven thirty. I'm going to the Hopkins Deli…it's in the Mercantile Building. Ask concierge how to get there. Bye." _

_Again, Randy found himself looking at the phone. He had invited her out, yet she dominated where they were going to go. That wasn't his plan. Oh, she making him work; she better be worth it. And even though he didn't like the fact that he had to put forth so much effort, he'd be lying if he didn't say he was looking forward to getting know her._

_It was just one lunch. She would go there, talk to him, figure out that he wasn't really interested and she could get back to her normal life. She didn't have time to date and really, once he found out about Jaxon, it would be short lived anyway._

"Why did you do that?" She stood at Jaxon's door watching the way he squirmed under her scrutiny. "There was no reason for you to call Randy."

"I just wanted you to stop crying. I was this close to getting him to say he was sorry." He held out his fingers to signal to her just how close he actually was. "He was scared, Mom. I can tell."

Walking over to Jaxon's bed, Amanda sat down. She knew that he didn't understand what happened or why relationships didn't work that way. He meant well, she understood that, but Jaxon needed to be a child and not worry about it. "Jax…it's not the same when make somebody apologize."

"Why not? You make me apologize all the time. Every time I do something wrong in school or if I get in a fight with one of my friends, you always say, 'Jaxon…you better apologize'." He mocked her voice as he explained. "I was just doing the same thing."

How could she argue with that logic? "It's over Jax. Me and Randy are over and I don't think we're gonna be friends. There's nothing left to say." She leaned down and kissed her son, before pulling the covers up over his body. "Now go to sleep…you've got school in the morning. And plenty of things to do around this place tomorrow while you enjoy being grounded."

"You can't be serious." Jaxon sat straight up in the bed. "I was trying to help. You can't ground me…I didn't do anything. You never once said I couldn't call Randy."

"You're not grounded because of that. I've told you before about your mouth. I heard some of the stuff you said. And the word ass? The next time it comes out of your mouth, I'm gonna break your lips." Pushing Jaxon back down on the bed by his forehead, Amanda hovered over him. "Good night. I love you."

"I love you, too, although I don't know why. I wouldn't ground you and your mouth is way worse than mine."

Amanda shook her head and walked to Jaxon's door. "Go to sleep, brat." Turning out the light, she turned back toward his bed. "Thanks, Jax."

He laid his Cena and Hardy action figures on the bed next to him. "Anytime."


	5. Chapter 5

Randy Orton moved through the corridor of the hotel quietly, trying to figure out where in the fuck it went wrong. He had everything he wanted, money, fame, and power within the company, but all he wanted right now was out. It seemed like no matter how badly he fucked up, his job was always intact. Sometimes the only thing he wanted was to get fired so he could have what resembled a normal life. But with Triple H in his corner, that wasn't happening anytime soon.

_What the fuck do I have to do to get canned around here, kill somebody? _When he had gotten in trouble before, it was because he was just fucking up, not this time. This time it was deliberate. Well, he didn't mean to draw _that_ much attention to himself. The airport was definitely not the place to cause a big commotion, especially with the country on high alert and whatnot. And being detained by Port Authority really wasn't what he had in mind. But, at least he made enough noise to be heard.

The only problem was, no one was fucking listening.

He just knew that Vince was going to fire him; he was actually banking on it. But, he'd be damned if he didn't get fined and suspended for sixty days. Now what the fuck was he going to do? Sixty days to himself…alone…with nothing but his thoughts on how he fucked up.

As he entered his hotel room, he threw his jacket down on the chair, kicked off his shoes and headed straight for the bed. Covering his eyes with his arm, he let out a loud groan. God, he really needed to talk to Amanda right now. It was hard enough dealing with their breakup, but then Jaxon had to call. He said that Amanda was crying; just the mere thought of it tore him apart. He never meant to make her cry, but it was the only way. All he could think about was holding her and feeling her shutter against him while he rubbed her back and whispered softly to her. He should be there, making it better. And even if he couldn't physically have her in his arms, he at least needed to hear her voice again; hear for himself that she was alright. But he couldn't call her now, could he?

If he did, what would he say? He couldn't tell her that he didn't mean anything he said to her. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that this was killing him too or that he was pissed that she didn't put up more of a fight. Didn't she feel the same way about him that he felt about her? He was fucking in love with her and she acted like when he said it was over, it was fine with her. Granted, he didn't want it to be over, but it had to be. He was just doing what he thought was for the best for everyone invovled. But he couldn't tell her that. She'd never know that he was sorry and he wanted her back.

He was Randy Orton; he didn't beg anybody for shit.

Without opening his eyes, he heard the door to his hotel room open and instantly knew it was. "I ain't in the mood."

"What the fuck is your damage?" Adam Copeland walked in and stood near the bed. "The word around the locker-room is you almost got your ass fired."

Randy turned his head to look at his blonde friend and shrugged. "Yeah well, I didn't. Got a hefty suspension though. Sixty whole days to sleep, get laid, and do whatever the hell else I want to."

Adam shook his head. Over the last few weeks, Randy's behavior had become unpredictable and there really wasn't a good explanation for it. He was partying way too hard, drinking entirely too much, and fucking up more than usual. Something was going on with Orton, even if he wouldn't admit it. "Could be worse. At least you get to spend some time with your girl."

"We ain't together no more."

"When the fuck did that happen?" A second voice rang in Randy's ears. This was just what he needed. Randy always told John Cena everything, yet somehow he skipped that little piece of information.

With a shrug, Orton placed his muscled arm back over his eyes and tried to drown out the sounds of his friends.

"That's fucked up. You were into her." Adam's observation was an honest one. Anyone that knew Randy before Amanda had seen the change in him. She was good for him, she kept him in line. That in itself was an amazing feat. Randy seemed to be happy with Amanda, just as happy as she seemed to be with him. But at least Adam now understood the dramatic change in his behavior.

Randy didn't want to get into all of that. It wasn't anyone's business why they broke up. He wasn't justifying it, or explaining it; they wouldn't understand anyway. _He _didn't even understand it; it just had to be done. "It wasn't working, so fuck her." He sat up on the bed and ran his hands over his face. If he could just get through this day, he was sure tomorrow was going to be better. "Besides, she was trying to change me and shit. Trying to make me into somebody that I'm not. She's looking a father for her kid…I ain't no father."

"But that kid was mad cool." Cena knew Randy's bullshit face like the back of his hand. There was much more to the story and he knew that Randy wasn't going to tell it.

"But he ain't _my_ kid. What I look like staying with somebody that I ain't happy with just because of a fucking kid? I ain't ready to tied down…Shit, I'm young, I wanna fucking live my life, not be part of some ready made family." There was so much anger in his voice that he thought he had safely tucked away. But his anger had nothing to do with what he was saying, instead, it steamed from how badly he hurt. He wanted all of those things. He wanted those things with her...it wasn't in the cards for them and that cut like a knife. No woman was worth this much grief. What the fuck did she do to him?

He should have left well enough alone. He never should have tried to get to know her. Had he just written off her attitude, he wouldn't have found out how amazing she was. If he just decided to cut his loses, he wouldn't have realized how refreshing being with somebody that he didn't have to be the "Legend Killer" with was. If only he would have stayed in his hotel room that day, he would have never started to fall in love.

_Lunch with Amanda had been entirely too short. It seemed like he was just getting to know her and then it was time for her to go back to work. She wasn't at all bitchy or snotty like she appeared to be on the phone. He could understand her initial attitude. He knew what it was like to be dead tired but still have a million things to do, when all he wanted to do was relax. That was one of the things he loved best about his life. He didn't have many responsibilities. Randy lived for Randy. He wasn't married, didn't have a girlfriend, no kids to worry about…he didn't even have a pet. He was a bachelor in every sense of the word. Randy truly was the kind of guy that could come and go as he pleased. His job demanded that he be places at a certain time, but in besides that, he had a lot of down time. He did what he wanted, and it just happened that what he wanted was to see Amanda again._

_Amanda's schedule didn't allow for dating. She made that perfectly clear to him. She explained that dating and romance and that falling in love bullshit was for people that had spare time. If he was looking for all of that, he needed to keep on looking. Randy couldn't understand why she was being so difficult. All he wanted was to get to know her, but she asked him what was the point? They would enjoy lunch and go on their merry way. She had too much shit to do in one day for anything more than that. For example, she had to finish up Christmas shopping and go to a football game and that was just on her short list of things to do before she went home. Somehow the look on his face led her to believe that he wasn't taking no for an answer. Randy Orton wasn't going to be easy to get rid of. That was a bad sign. Even if she would have liked to see him again, Jaxon wasn't letting that happen. And when he decided to invite himself to the game, she was sure that Jaxon was going to kick her ass. _

_Being a football fan, it seemed fitting. Randy would kill two birds with one stone. Not only would he get to see her again, but it was also a chance for him to catch up on his favorite sport. It was like pulling teeth to get her to tell him the name of the field, but he had his own ways of being persuasive. A little bat of the lashes, a smile, and gently running his hand over hers did the trick. And now, he walked slowly toward the bleachers and took a seat next to her. _

_Amanda couldn't believe that Randy actually showed. He had surprised her by calling and again by showing up for lunch. But now, he was at Jaxon's football game? She didn't think he was going to really come. She honestly never expected to see him again. This was going from bad to worse. Sure she was attracted to him, who in their right mind wouldn't be? But, she had forgotten to tell him about one major detail at lunch, Jaxon. It's not that she forgot, but what was the point? It was supposed to be a friendly lunch and that was all. He was supposed to go back to his fabulous wrestling life and she was supposed to go back to hers, no matter how mundane it was. _

_Randy propped his elbows on his thighs and looked out onto the field. When she said football, he didn't have this in mind. It was a Pee-Wee league. Who the fuck watched kids play football? "Surprised to see me?" _

_"Well, you could say that." Amanda nodded her head and kept her eyes on the field. She could almost count down the minutes before Jaxon would notice a guy talking to her. He was predictable that way. The child had radar that stretched for miles. It was only a matter of time. _

_"Why are you surprised? You're the one that invited me." Randy smirked. _

_Turning to in his direction, she raised her brow. "No…you invited yourself. I told you I had to be here. No one asked you to come."_

"_Why should you have all the fun? I love football too." He noticed how she jumped up and clapped when number twenty-three intercepted the ball. She was really into this game and he couldn't figure out why. The field wasn't NFL standard, the kids were uncoordinated, there were no really hard hits, and no one was running ninety yards for a touchback. This wasn't football, it was a mockery of the game. "So, what are you, like a nanny extraordinaire?" _

_She couldn't stop laughing. If only he knew. "No…I'm not a nanny."_

"_Then why are you watching kids play?"_

"_I like kids." It was true. Amanda had always liked children. It was just too bad that she was one herself when she had hers. "Don't you?"_

_Randy huffed and shook his head rapidly. "Hell no. They don't like me and I don't like them. They slow you down and you can't do anything because they're always around. They get smart and they talk all the fucking time. And you can't beat the little bastards because then you get fucking child abuse charges."_

_Nodding her head, Amanda watched as Jaxon turned in her direction. He should have been paying attention on the field, but he couldn't. Not when there was a guy sitting next to his mom. "You were a kid once, I bet you got on somebody's nerves, too. That's too bad. Kids are great."_

_From where he stood, he couldn't really make out who this guy was talking to his mother, but Jaxon could tell that this dude was a little too close to her. In another few seconds_ _it would be half time and he would be able to scope out the situation for himself. What was going on on the field, was secondary. Jaxon had something else that demanded his full attention._

"_So…what do you say about us grabbing dinner after the game? I can explain to you all the reasons that kids suck ass." It was worth a try. Randy was intrigued by Amanda and though his initial intention was to get her in bed, after talking to her at lunch, he actually wanted to get to know her. She was funny and sweet and even though she was in a bad mood, she still smiled a lot. She didn't gush over him or make a big deal out of who he was. Granted, she didn't know who he was, but that made it sweeter. _

_Not only did Amanda not have time to date, she didn't have time to date a guy that didn't like kids. Randy had been persistent about seeing her again, that's how he ended up at the football game. She knew he wouldn't give up on the idea of having dinner with her, not if she told him no. Watching her son make his way over to the bleachers, she knew the only way that he would understand. Randy was going to have to take Jaxon's answer as law. "I don't think that's a good idea."_

"_Why?"_

_As soon as Jaxon was in close enough proximately he started to clinch his jaw. Why in the hell was Randy Orton sitting with his mom? This was so wrong. He hated Orton; he wasn't to be trusted. He was the worst heel in the history of wrestling. Not only did he sell out Triple H, he also went around putting legends in the RKO and to make it even worse, he had the nerve to give Shawn Michael's a concussion. It was time to put a stop to this crap. "Did you see me?" Jaxon completely ignored Randy and stood in front of Amanda smiling._

"_I did…you looked good out there." With a genuine smile on her face, Amanda furrowed her brow in an attempt to beg Jaxon not to embarrass her._

_Curling up his lip, Randy watched as this kid removed his helmet. It was the same brat from the night before. Great, just fucking great. This neighbor kid, nephew, brother, or whoever the fuck he was, was ruining his vibe. But in an attempt to make small talk, Randy spoke. "Hell of an interception."_

_Jaxon never acknowledged Randy. This was a simple case of letting him know who was boss. "Can I have some money? I wanna get a soda."_

"_No…you're gonna get a cramp while running if you drink a whole soda now." Amanda acted on impulse and turned Jaxon around to tuck the back of his jersey into his football pants. "Go get some Gatorade."_

_Instead of taking his mother's advice, Jaxon wedged himself between Randy and Amanda on the bench. He would gladly wait out half time with them, never mind if he got in trouble with his coach for not listening to the pep talk in between halves. It was the last game; they weren't going to the championships anyway. Did it really matter anymore? "I don't want Gatorade. I wanna Ginger Ale." _

_Why in the hell did this child feel the need to sit next to him, when there was plenty of room next to Amanda? Did he want Randy's autograph? Would Amanda think it was rude if he asked the kid that in hopes that he'd go away? "Um, kid? Don't you need to be on the field?"_

"_Don't you need to be to be traveling with Raw?" Jaxon was pissed, anyone around him could tell by the biting way he addressed Randy. And that slight roll of his eyes didn't go unchecked by his mother._

"_Jax…stop it." She mumbled under her breath. This was going to be a bloodbath. Randy Orton may have been a man, but Jaxon had a way of breaking the strongest of men in half. It was truly impressive for a child so young._

"_Seriously kid…where's your mom? I'm trying to have a nice conversation with your," What was she to him anyway? "friend here. And you're killing the mood. How 'bout you run along and go do your little football thing?"_

"_How's that juice working out for ya?" Jaxon bit the inside of his jaw and tried his best not to say something that would get him grounded. With Christmas only being a week away, he didn't want to chance not getting that PS3 that he had his heart set on. _

_This was exactly why Randy hated children. They didn't know what to say out of their fucking mouths. He couldn't very well jack him up like he would an adult and he couldn't put someone else's kid over his knee and beat the shit out of them. "Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?"_

"_I don't know. Let's find out..." Jaxon stood and looked at Amanda. It was obvious Randy didn't know that he was her son and Jaxon was going to have fun explaining it to him. "Mommy? Did you ever teach me manners?"_

_Mommy? What the fuck?_

"_Apparently, I didn't do a very good job at it." No he didn't pull out the Mommy card. Oh, he was laying it on thick. Amanda narrowed her eyes at her son and shoved his helmet in his hand. "Take your little narrow ass down to the field."_

_Smiling, Jaxon nodded. "Pizza Hut after?"_

"_Not if you don't get outta my face." She sang with a sarcastic smile._

_Making a show of it, Jaxon kissed his mother on the lips and hugged her, muddy uniform and all. It was needed to really drive home the point; they were a couple and Randy wasn't part of it. "Thanks Mommy. I love you." As Jaxon began to leave, he turned to Randy and gave him the finger. _

"_Jaxon!"_

_With a shrug the child ran down the bleachers and back on the field. He had to try, even if that meant no Pizza Hut._

_Randy was completely dumbfounded. At no time did she ever say she had a kid. When he met her, she didn't say anything. When he called her, she hadn't mentioned it. When they had lunch, she didn't bring it up. When he told her how much hated children, not once did she tell him. It was really a shame, too, because he was starting to like her. "That…is your…you have a kid?"_

_With a smirk and nod, she turned her face to his. "Too bad you don't like them, huh? I guess that dinner invitation is off the table." Amanda got up from her seat and made her way down to the field, leaving a very confused Randy sitting there, alone. _

Getting to his feet, Randy dug through his bag to fish out his cigarettes. He had been doing so well not smoking. But since all of this shit started, he began smoking like a chimney. This had to stop. It was over, he ended it, he should just move on with his life. He happened to look down at the package lying in the bottom of his bag and took it out along with his smokes.

"So, am I still supposed to show up to his party?" John asked stuffing his hands in his pockets. It was no secret that Cena was Jaxon's favorite wrestler. The kid was so excited when he agreed to come. All he could talk about was how his friends were going to completely freak when the Champ walked through the door. But where did his loyalties lie? Was he supposed to be loyal to Jaxon? After all he did promise and this party was a big deal to him. Or was he supposed to be loyal to his friend, who was obviously hurt over the break up?

Shrugging, Randy gripped package containing the original Four Horsemen action figures in his hand. "Do what you want. I won't be there." He said before dropping the gift that took weeks to find in the trashcan and closing the bathroom door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

The rain beat softly against the metal railing of the patio, forcing Amanda to watch the water collect in the aluminum dish underneath the Mexican roses. Although it had been a dreary day, it had been a great one. Not only did she and Jaxon play hooky from school and work, but they went to the three dollar movie, played at the arcade and had a great lunch. And most importantly, she hadn't thought about Randy all day. She felt like her old self again. She was the same crazy, fun loving mother that truly enjoyed hanging out with her kid. This day couldn't get any better.

She had no idea how right she was until she heard Travis' voice. If she could have stayed in her room and avoided his sorry ass, she would have, but unfortunately that wasn't an option. Not because she _had _to talk to him or anything, but because he took it upon himself to just barge in her room as if they still were together… like he lived there.

Standing just over six feet, Travis Williams was truly an attractive man. His lazy brown eyes were set off by his dark brown complexion, and that connected mustache and goatee that blended perfectly with his beard that only outlined his jaw, leading up to his fresh shape up and close cut hair, made him that much yummier. It was no wonder he never had time to do any damn thing involving Jaxon. His ass probably spent hours in the barbershop to be that clean.

"Jesus, Trav…Don't you know how to knock?" Turning her eyes away from the window, Amanda folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes at her ex. Travis licked his full lips and smiled. Damn that smile. It was that smile, that lazy half smile, that he and Jaxon shared. It was what drew her to him in the first place. "What do you want?"

"Can't I wanna see how you're doin'?" Standing in the doorway, Travis stared at Amanda. She looked so different than she use to. Before she was cute girl; a little mousey and really plain, but she was young and naïve and that's what liked about her. But now? Amanda looked like a woman. Her once long brown hair was cut to just above her shoulders which really brought out how blue her eyes were. She wore a hint of makeup and her skin was tanned. She always had a body, but somehow, now, it was more noticeable. He knew what brought about the change in Amanda and he couldn't all mad about it. Just looking at her, if he could've gone back in time, he would have changed how things between them went. "Lil' Man told me you were all moping around and shit over Old Boy. Fuck that kid. I ain't never want him around my son noway."

Rolling her eyes, Amanda stood up. "What time are gonna have Jaxon home? He's got school on Monday morning." She wasn't talking about her breakup with Randy with Travis. Travis had been against her seeing Randy from day one, and she wasn't giving him a chance to say, 'I told you so'.

From that first dinner that Jaxon had told him about, the name Randy Orton left a nasty taste in Travis' mouth. So what he had moved on and lived with one of his girlfriends? Amanda didn't date seriously. Amanda was loyal to Jaxon and by proxy, to Travis. And who the fuck was Randy Orton to try to change the way shit worked? Travis liked the arrangement they had. Jaxon was fine with it. But Randy had to come in and try to flip the script. Truthfully, Travis couldn't have been prouder of Jaxon for showing Randy just how much he fucked up the first time he tried to be nice to Travis' son.

"_I don't wanna go to dinner with him." Jaxon protested the entire car ride to Red Brick Station. As much as he loved that place, Randy was going to be there. Not only was he going to ruin dinner, but Randy was now contaminating Jaxon's favorite restaurant; just another reason not to like him. _

_Amanda had talked to Randy on the phone a few times since that day at the field. It was nearly Christmas and he didn't have to be back on the road until New Year's Revolution. His holiday plans had fallen through and he really didn't have anywhere else to be. Randy decided to spend his time in Baltimore, because he said there was something about Amanda that made him want to get to know her. And who could argue with that logic? It wasn't often that an incredible attractive man, showed interest in her. Let alone, showed that they wanted to get to know her son, too. "Why don't you like him, Jax? You don't even know him." _

_Why should he like him, was the question? There were so many things wrong with Randy Orton. Randy had too many tattoos, an annoying smirk, and was a prick on TV that made women like him before turning on them and putting them in the RKO. There was no reason that Randy needed to be anywhere near his mother. "You don't know guys like him, Mom. I do. You're old; the world has changed since you were a kid."_

_She tried to stop herself from smiling at the way that he was trying to protect her. "I'm not old, Jaxon. I'm only twenty-five."_

"_Which equals old. Things have changed since way back in the day. Guys like him…they're only out for one thing." Narrowing his eyes, Jaxon knew he was speaking the truth._

_She was sure she was going to have a heart attack. The boy was only nine. What in the hell could he possibly know? "And what thing is that?"_

"_Hey…I watch Laguna Beach and Real World. I know about things. And I'm telling you, Randy Orton is no good." Jaxon sat back in his seat and formulated his plan. He was going to make Randy sorry that he had ever invited his mother out for dinner. If he had it his way, Randy would run screaming from the restaurant in fear. His mother might now appreciate it now, but she would eventually. She had to; he was going to do this for her own good._

"_Why the hell are you watching Laguna Beach, when your ass is supposed to asleep at nine-thirty? And what things do you know?" _

"_Please, Mom. You told me where babies come from and I learned about sex on TV." He really didn't have time to give her a sex education lesson. He wasn't sure she could handle it. But the way she looking at him through the rearview mirror proved that she wanted to know about it, too. "Just like on TV, if you lay down when you're kissing, you get pregnant. I bet you he likes to lie down and kiss, Mom. I don't trust him." _

_Apparently that sex talk didn't quite register with Jaxon. Amanda was going to have to attempt it again, but not right now. She didn't need to give him any more reason to hate Randy. Especially if Jaxon ever found out about the conversation they had over the phone the night before. Oh, if Jaxon heard about that one, this dinner was going to be worse than it was already destined to be._

_Red Brick Station was a restaurant and brewery that had the best beer battered chicken strips in all of Maryland. At least that's what Amanda told Randy. Every time Jaxon and Amanda would go out to dinner, that was the place he had always suggested. It was the one reason that Randy suggested that Amanda pick a place that Jaxon would like. Lord knows he didn't want his first real date with Amanda to be with her son as well. But he was trying to be respectful of the fact that she couldn't get a babysitter. And truth be told, Randy was a brat. He wanted to see Amanda and he wasn't taking no for an answer; if that meant that Jaxon had to come along then so be it._

_Amanda parked her car and had to practically drag Jaxon down The Avenue toward the restaurant. "You will not embarrass me, you got that? Best behavior."_

_Jaxon rolled his eyes and followed behind her. "What do I get out of it?"_

"_You get to keep your teeth." Amanda smiled when she saw Randy waiting outside for them. He was so handsome, wearing a white long sleeve t-shirt, black jeans and black leather jacket. Even with a coat on, his muscles screamed at her to touch them. "Hey…been waiting long?"_

_Glancing quickly at the child with his lips curled up, Randy turned his attention back to his date. "No. I just got here. Our table is ready, though."_

_Amanda stood behind Jaxon and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I guess I should formally introduce you. Jaxon, this is Randy Orton. Randy, this is my son, Jaxon Williams."_

_An uncomfortable nod was passed between the two before they all went inside. It wasn't until after they were seated and ordered did Randy try to make small talk. He couldn't talk about the things he wanted to with Amanda with Jaxon there; things more like the conversation they had the night before. But the silence and the death glare from Jaxon was killing him. "So um, Kid, what else you do besides football?"_

"_My name is Jaxon…not Kid." Rolling his eyes, Jaxon continued to play his PSP at the table. That had been another battle, but in the end Amanda gave in. It was the only way she could bribe him into actually accompanying them on their date was if she allowed him to bring it. He had assured her that Randy Orton was boring and he would need something to do, other than looking at his big, dumb face. Jaxon was being a brat and she wanted to see Randy. The PSP was a small price to pay._

_Amanda kicked her son under the table and narrowed her eyes at him when he looked up. "Jaxon is very much into marital arts. He's really good. We're going to the National Tae-Kwon-Do Tournament in Florida in few weeks."_

"_I have a house in Florida."_

_So what? Jaxon was not impressed. "Well the hotel we're staying at is probably way better. They have room service and all you can eat breakfast and a pool. Plus, I'm gonna get to stay up late…"_

_Why were children such a pain in the ass? That little condescending tone in his voice and that face he made that said, 'who cares'? Randy didn't want to act childish, but Jaxon was forcing him. "I don't need room service because I know how to cook. And I can have all the breakfast I want, whenever I want it. And, I stay up late every night and I got the biggest pool of anyone I know." Why was he justifying his home to a nine year old? It didn't make sense, but he felt like he had to._

_Amanda's narrowed eyes shifted from Jaxon to Randy. She couldn't believe this. They were arguing like children at the table over whether a hotel was better than Randy's house. He had made it clear to her on several occasions and he didn't get along with children. The man didn't lie. "Stop." She mouthed to him and watched as he nodded and lowered his eyes like a scowled child._

"_So um…Tae-Kwon-Do, huh? You any good?"_

"_Jaxon is the leader of his tournament team. He's one of the best and the youngest on the team in his Dojang." In true mother fashion, Amanda couldn't help that proud sound in her voice. Jax was amazing at weapons, forms, sparring. He just took to martial arts; it was like watching a dance unfold when Jaxon was in his element._

_Nodding his head, Randy finally thought he and Jaxon had something in common. "I took Karate when I was a kid. I made it to Rokukyu. I was pretty good."_

_Jaxon sat back in his chair and looked at Randy in disbelief. "Karate is fine, if you're a thug and have no respect for discipline. All it does it teaches you how to use your body as weapon. There's no art in that. Besides, I'm a purple belt. I could kick your ass."_

"_Jaxon!" This was a bad idea. Amanda mistakenly thought that they would be able to have a civil dinner. Apparently she was dead wrong._

"_You wanna go? Cause we can take this outside. Ain't nothing in between us but space and opportunity." Randy didn't take threats well, even if they were from little runty children._

"_Randy?!?" Oh God, could this date get any worse? _

"_What? He threatened me. I'm just supposed to sit here and take it?" _

_Amanda shook her head and gripped Jaxon's thigh under the table. That was basically to warn him that she was going to light his ass up when they got home. "Besides the fact that you outweigh him by two hundred pounds and you're like two feet taller than him…why are you entertaining it?"_

"_It's okay, Mom. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And even if you win, my dad could kick your butt, too. He's big…he's tall like you but he's got big muscles like Bobby Lashley. You look like a butt-ugly midget monkey next to him." Jaxon dared Randy to say anything else. He was successful in making sure that Randy Orton wouldn't want anything else to do with his mother, and making him think that his father was some huge man, was just the way to do it. He was sure he was going to be grounded until he was thirty for his behavior, but it was worth it, just so his Mom would be free of a guy like that._

_What father was Jaxon talking about? Travis didn't look anything like that. He wasn't small, but Lashley? "Jax, your dad is not buff…"_

_Leaning over to whisper, to her, Jaxon never his eyes off of Randy. "I'm trying to scare him. Let me handle this."_

_Amanda threw her hands up and stood. "I'm going to the bathroom. Do you two think you can get along for two minutes, without me here?"_

_Glaring at Jaxon, Randy nodded. Two minutes wasn't a long time, but it could feel like an eternity. "What's your problem with me?"_

"_I don't like you."_

"_Well, I don't like you either."_

_Jaxon didn't care if Randy didn't like him. That was the whole plan. "I don't like you talking to my mom."_

_Randy didn't care if Jaxon didn't like that. He wasn't trying to get to know Jaxon. "Well too damn bad. I happen to like your mom. So you better get use to it. I don't scare very easily."_

_With a satisfied smile, Jaxon raised brow. "Just wait. And if you even think about putting her in a RKO…you'll regret it." If Randy wanted to play hardball, Jaxon would be ready. His mother was just that important._

"You ready, Lil' Man?" Travis sat on the sofa next to Jaxon, leaning back and resting his head on the pillows. He was tired, and they had a long drive back. "We gotta pick up Akera."

Jaxon immediately looked up and his mouth dropped open. He didn't know that this time with his dad was going to involve spending time with his sister. Not that he didn't get along with her, but he thought this weekend it would be just them. "Akera's coming?"

"Yeah. Grandma wanted to see all y'all."

Amanda immediately rolled her eyes. Of course he would pull this shit. For damn near a week, he had hyped Jaxon up; telling him all of the things _they_ were going to do together. Never once did he mention that his daughter was going to accompany them. She wasn't going to go there, not with Jaxon in the room. But Travis' ass was one fuck up away from getting cussed out.

"Are Taj _and _Tyree gonna be there, too?" Jaxon was only ten and controlling his emotions at that age was really hard for him. He wasn't a bad child; he wasn't the temper tantrum type. But Jaxon had been known to cry when he was really frustrated. He could feel his eyes sting and he knew that his manila colored skin was starting to flush red. He loved his little brother and sister, but having to share Travis with one sibling was bad enough. With all three? He wasn't sure he still wanted to go.

This was Travis' MO. He had four children that Amanda knew about; two lived in Baltimore, two lived in New York. Jaxon was the oldest, and then there was Akera, who was four months younger than Jaxon. Then came his seven year old sister, Taj, followed by Tyree who was only two. Even though Jaxon was Travis' first child, he was the one that saw him the least.

Part of the problem was Taj and Tyree's mother, Keisha. Her favorite thing to talk about was Travis' "half breed" children, namely Jaxon and Akera who was half Puerto Rican. The last time Amanda saw Keisha it almost came to blows. She wasn't the fighting type, but no one, NO ONE, insulted her son. For that reason alone, Jaxon didn't visit Travis that much. Amanda would be damned if Jax was going to have to spend time in a house with a woman that talked about him with that much disrespect. And Travis knew that she didn't want Keisha anywhere near her son. This was going to be a hard weekend.

"Yeah man. How often do I get all my kids at the same time? It's gonna be good." Travis was completely oblivious to the fact that Jaxon wasn't happy about this new arrangement. It was always about what Travis wanted. He didn't care that he hadn't seen his son in four months. Nor did he seem to realize that maybe Jaxon just wanted to feel special to his father. All he saw was the fact that he made an effort. He drove six hours to pick up his kids. That should count for something.

"Jax…go get your bag." Amanda waited until Jaxon was in his room before she turned to Travis. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You haven't seen him in how many months? You get him all excited about spending time with _you_ and then you pull this shit? "

"What are you talking about? I came. I'm here. You don't make it easy on a brother do you?" He couldn't believe that they were about to have another argument. Every since she got with _Randy_ that's all she did…ride his ass. This bullshit was about to end. "Old Boy got your nose that open? All of a sudden I ain't shit...everything fucking thing I do is wrong."

"Travis…this has nothing to do with Randy. Stop bringing him into every fucking conversation. _You_ are fucking up. _You_ need to take responsibility for it. You promise that boy everything, but you don't deliver. I'm tired of taking up your slack. Get your shit together." She tried to keep her voice low, so that Jaxon wouldn't hear. But that look on Travis' face made it difficult. "I'm sick of rearranging our lives for you. Me and Jax were hanging out but you called and said that you would be here three hours earlier than you originally told him; so we cut it short. We've been home for damn near five hours and you're just showing up. Now, after all the fucking waiting and anticipation, you spring this shit…"

"Why you don't Jaxon around my kids? That's his family…"

"It doesn't have anything to do with them. It's about _you_ not being there for _him_." Was it that hard to understand? Was Travis that fucking stupid? "You have a bunch of damn children; that's your problem. I don't give a shit about the other ones. The one I care about, is in his room, pissed off because he's gotta share you this weekend."

If he didn't leave soon this argument was going to get really ugly. "I ain't come here for this bullshit." Turning toward Jaxon's room, Travis called for his son.

When Jaxon didn't come to the door, Amanda walked to his room. He was sitting on his bed, with his television on, playing with his action figures. He had made no attempt to get his bag or to put his shoes on. Instead, he just sat there, like he didn't have anything else to do.

"Jax…come on. Your dad's waiting."

He shrugged and kept playing. "Tell him I don't wanna go anymore."

"You have to go. He came all this way to pick you up." Amanda sat down next to her son and nudged him with her shoulder. "And I have a date tomorrow and I can't have you here ruining it for me." She smiled when he looked up at her.

"I don't wanna be there with Taj and Tyree. Akera gets on my nerves. And Grandma lets them do whatever they want." Jaxon would never admit that he was upset with his father; he was entirely too loyal to him for that. "And I can't leave you alone. What if you get sad about Randy? Or what if the guy you're dating is a bigger jerk than Randy is? I gotta screen him."

"I won't get sad about Randy. And you can screen the guy over the phone. Besides, I can't have a wild party if you're here." She tried to smile to lighten the mood. It wasn't working; Jaxon still had that same look on his face. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on his temple. "Boop, I know you're upset about your weekend, but you'll have fun. You know Ms. Audrey will buy you all kinds of cool stuff. And you'll get to see your uncles. It's gonna be a good time."

"What about you?" Jaxon rested his head on his mother's chest and enjoyed her babying him. He was such a mama's boy, it was incredible. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'm gonna be fine. I promise. I have to be. You know why?" She looked at him when he lifted his head and shook it. "Cause you raised me right."

"I tried."

"Come on. You know how your father gets when he doesn't get his way." Helping Jaxon with his bags, Amanda walked out to living room and handed them over to Travis. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but it would have to wait. "I want him home Sunday night. Not Monday morning, not Tuesday…_Sunday_ night. And I don't want Keisha around him. If he has to stay at your mom's that's fine by me."

Travis rolled his eyes. He hated when she tried to dictate how much time he could have or what he could do with his son. "Whatever. Come on, Man."

Jaxon turned back around and hugged Amanda tightly. "I love you, Mom. Call me if you need to talk." He watched her nod and he headed toward the door. "And no boys in my house while I'm gone."

With a wide smile, Amanda saluted him. "Yes, sir."

As soon as the door closed, she realized just how quiet the apartment was. All of the emotions that she had been trying to bottle up made their way out with great force. It struck her, she was alone and it wasn't just because Jaxon wasn't there. She had gotten use to being alone, but when she met Randy, she realized how much she missed being with someone. This was going to stop. She wasn't with Randy anymore and was she was putting him behind her. Finally, it was quiet enough for her to cry as much as she wanted to. She was going to get over Randy. She had the entire weekend to cry him out of her system, without having Jaxon know how badly she was hurting.

* * *

_A/N: We would like to thank Tanya and her nephew for permission to use the term, butt-ugly midget monkey, in this story. That still cracks me up!_


	7. Chapter 7

"Dia, I can't do it. Why in the hell did I let you talk me in to this? I don't even know the first thing about this guy." Amanda sat on the couch in her blue silk robe and yellow duck slippers, bending down to pick up what looked like Cocoa Puff off of the floor. Apparently Jaxon had been eating in the living room again. "Can't you call him and tell him I can't make it?"

"Hell no. You need to get out. It's been how long, almost a month since you and Randy broke up? If you don't get back in the game, you're just gonna sit around and mope yourself to death." Dia yelled to a person she recognized on the street, ignoring the hell out of Amanda and her excuses.

She hadn't been moping. Sure she had her bad days, but she wasn't moping. Okay, maybe she was a little, but she had the right to. She was trying to get over a broken heart. The only other broken heart she'd ever had was ten years ago, when she found out that Travis cheated on her. "It's been three weeks, thank you. And I'm fine. I don't see why I need to go out with this guy. What if he's boring?"

"Well, you're boring. I wouldn't set you up with one of my hotties 'cause God knows you wouldn't know what the hell do with him." The erupting giggle from Amanda on the other end of the phone put a smile on Dia's face. "I'm serious Mandy, he's a nice guy. He's a little slow for me, but he's a good way to ease you back into dating. He's gonna be at your house in about thirty minutes, so get your ass off your couch and put some clothes on."

Shaking her head, Amanda reluctantly got up. It had been a little over eight months since she'd had a first date and before Randy, it had been almost three years. What in the hell was she supposed to talk to this guy about? She didn't know the first thing about him. Dia had shown him a picture of him and that was it. "I hate you. And just so you know, if my ass ends up on the Eyewitness News, I'm gonna come back and haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Mandy, stop! You're gonna have fun. Now get ready and I'll see you on Monday at work." Dia wasn't giving her another chance to change her mind. Instead, she hung up on her friend. She knew damn well Amanda wouldn't call Brian and break the date and Dia sure as hell wasn't doing it. She had no choice; she had to go. And if she was still sitting around with rollers in her hair by the time he got there, then that would be Amanda's fault.

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The Rusty Scupper was a nice seafood restaurant located on Key Highway, just off of the promenade at the Inner Harbor. The food was good, so was the atmosphere and at six o'clock, it was still early enough to take a stroll around the harbor if the date was going well or late enough to have an excuse to have to go home, if he fucking sucked. Judging from the exhilarating conversation they shared, Amanda guessed that she would going home right after dessert.

Brian Ensley was a very attractive man. Standing at just about six feet tall, his sharp blue eyes and curly blonde hair made him look like a little boy. Of course, he was still shorter than Randy and his blue eyes didn't shine quite the way that Randy's did, but it wasn't like Amanda was paying attention to that or anything. No, Amanda was paying attention to Brian as he described to her the wonderful world of mortgage broking. If ever Amanda thought home loans were exciting, listening to Brian recount it changed her mind.

"So with the way that interest rates are fluctuating, I can't understand why people don't want an ARM loan. You should see how many FIXED applications I have to process in a day." With a gentle smile, Brian accepted the refill of his wine and turned his eyes back to Amanda. "So tell me about the US Postal Service."

Amanda didn't want to talk about the post office; she barely wanted to be there half of the time. Swallowing a forkful of mashed potatoes, she thought about something she could say about the post office that wouldn't make her sound as boring as he was. "Well, I've been there for almost nine years…"

"And you don't own a home?" Brian interrupted. Shaking his head, he sat his whine glass down and folded his hands at the table. "With your job stability, and years of service, I'm sure you'd qualify for a home loan. It truly is the best investment you could make. You should come by my office; I can start the paperwork for you."

Amanda fought the urge to laugh in his face. Oh she had been through the home loan process before. In fact, looking for house in Baltimore County was something that she started doing with Randy's encouragement. It wasn't to be their house, but of all the houses they looked at, he had just as much input as she did. He had a list of houses that he didn't like because there were no sidewalks for Jaxon to ride his bike on or the yards were too small to have big cookouts, or the distance from the house to the post office downtown, Jaxon's school, and the airport was too great. Randy's name wasn't going on the deed, but when Amanda found their dream house, Randy was going to be staying with her there.

"Thanks."

First dates sucked. She didn't know anything more about Brian, except maybe had to be the most boring thirty year old man on the planet. A man his age should have been hanging in strip clubs with his friends, not sitting at home checking the damn Dow Jones to see what the next day's interest rates were going to be. If Jaxon would have met this guy, he would have either laughed in his face or completely shown his ass. If Randy thought he had it bad on their first real date, Brian should have been counting his lucky stars that Jaxon was out of town.

"_I don't wanna go." Jaxon stood in his mother's room with his arms folded across his chest, adamant about staying home. "Besides, we always watch the ball drop together. Who am I gonna kiss at midnight?"_

"_Jaxon, you're always asleep before the ball drops anyway. I'm just doing something different this year. Nana and Pop-Pop wanna take you downtown for the fireworks and then you get to sleep over. And do you know how hard I had to beg Tommy's mother and Nana to let him come? You, my friend, are getting out of my house tonight."_

"_But why does he get to stay here?" There it was that damn whine. That pouty, 'it's not fair, I can't watch you if I'm with the grandparents' whine. _

_Amanda really wanted to tell Jaxon that he couldn't be there because if there really was a God, she was getting laid. It had been almost three years and she was long overdue. Randy might not have been perfect, but he was decent enough. "He's not staying here. We're going out to dinner and then we'll come back, watch the countdown on TV, and then I'll be in bed before one…okay, Dad?"_

_Stomping back into the living room, Jaxon rolled his eyes at Randy. He looked too corny to just be going out to dinner. Who wears a jacket and tie if they weren't going to Mass? And what was with that cologne? Who was he trying to impress? Jaxon had seen enough of those Axe Body Spray commercials to know what happens when guys put on cologne. Randy was shifty and Jaxon didn't trust him. "Where are you taking my mother?"_

"_To a restaurant that you can't go to." Randy had a satisfied smirk on his face that finally he would get to spend some time alone with Amanda without having to stop himself from shaking the shit out of Jaxon. _

_A restaurant? How vague can one get? "You're not gonna try to make her pay are you? Cause you're not a champion or anything and you don't look like you have a lot of money." Jaxon would be damned if his mother was getting all dressed up, even putting on earrings and lipstick, for some guy that was going to stick her with the check._

"_You know, Santa takes back presents when he finds out that, little, smart ass, little boys were cutting up after Christmas." Thank God, Amanda had told Randy that Jaxon still believed. It was amazing really because a child of nine, a boy even, rarely did. But, she had rationalized with her son that if he didn't believe and didn't get anything for Christmas, was it really worth the risk? If nothing else, it gave Randy something to hold over Jaxon's head._

"_He won't listen to you, only parents." Rolling his eyes, Jaxon sat down next to Randy. "So here's how it's gonna go. You're gonna take my mom out, but you're not gonna hold her hand, or make stupid eyes or kissy faces with her across the table. You're gonna eat, YOU pay the check and bring her back here. She sits on the left side of the couch, so you have to sit on the right. Watch Dick Clark and go home. Okay?"_

_Randy had to admire Jaxon's determination. In some sick twisted way, he reminded him of himself. He was pretty demanding and didn't take no for an answer. But still, Jaxon was a child telling him what to do. "I don't know what kinds of dates you've been on before, but that ain't how I see this night going."_

_Jaxon drummed his fingers against the arm of the couch and felt his lip twitch. That look on Randy's face said that he was going to try to kiss her. That was not happening. "And you're not gonna kiss her."_

"_Yes I am."_

"_You're not gonna touch her. I got ways of finding out. I could lift some really good fingerprints from her." The more Randy smiled, the more pissed off Jaxon became. Obviously setting the ground rules wasn't working, so he decided to appeal to Randy's sense of decency…that is, if he had any. Sitting himself on the coffee table in front of Randy, Jaxon decided to have a man to man with him. "Look, you're the kind of jerk that will say a bunch of nice things, make her feel really special, and then try to…you know."_

_Was Jaxon giving him the sex speech? The childish side of Randy wanted egg him on to find out just what this child thought he knew. But, the adult side of him knew that this was not an appropriate conversation to have with a child. "Look Kid, I'm not trying to do anything but have dinner."_

"_I don't want my mom to end up hurt. So if you kiss her, you better be standing up."_

"_Excuse me?" Standing up? What did that have to do with anything?_

_Did Jaxon have to teach everybody about sex? Was he really the only informed one? Apparently Randy was as clueless about that whole sex thing as his mom was and Jaxon wasn't going to give either of them any ideas. "Never mind. On second though, just don't touch her. I got my eyes on you."_

_Amanda came out in the living room and opened the door. "Mom, please take this boy. I'm about to knock him out." _

_Debbie Wilcox smiled at Randy as she entered the apartment. "Hi. I'm Debbie, I'm Mandy's mother."_

"_Randy." Randy stood up and shook Debbie's hand._

"_Mandy and Randy. That's so cute." Debbie smiled._

_Jaxon rolled his eyes. Of course Randy would try to get in good with his grandmother too. It was all a part of Randy's evil master plan, but Jaxon wasn't stupid. The goal was to get rid of Randy, not have everyone like him. "Okay. Mom, I had the talk with Randy. I'm gonna call you to make sure you're home safe. And I gotta picture of him in my bag to give to the cops if they need it to find him. And I told him that he can't touch you, so if he tries, use the pepper spray. And…"_

_With a frustrated sigh Amanda hugged her son. She loved that he cared so much about her and constantly tried to protect her, but good Lord he was annoying her. "Jax, I'm a big girl. I'll be fine."_

_Kissing his mother and wishing her a happy new year, Jaxon picked up his bag and glared at Randy. "Don't forget…I can take fingerprints."_

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_It was amazing that Randy was able to get reservations at Windows on New Year's Eve. With its large glass window overlooking the Inner Harbor, it was the perfect view for watching the fireworks indoors. The only problem was that neither Randy nor Amanda were really interested in looking at any damn fireworks. Making their own, yeah, but watching them…not so much. _

_For about two weeks, they had talked to each other, almost everyday. She let him in on little pieces of her life. Not that she felt that Randy was her soul mate or anything, but because it felt good to have a man pay attention to her. And being in his presence, she found that she liked the way he would smile at certain things she said, and the way he would stare at her when she wasn't looking at him. He looked at her like he wanted her and she hadn't had someone look at her like that in a very long time. _

"_So what's the deal with Jaxon's father?" It was an honest question. Randy wanted to know what was about to get himself into._

"_There's no deal. He lives in New York. He sees Jaxon a few times a year. He and Jax have more of a phone relationship, but that's it." There was the distinct sound of irritation in her voice when she spoke about Travis. _

"_I meant, what's the deal with you and him." _

_A hysterical laugh poured from her mouth. "There's no deal. I met him when I turned sixteen. I had Jaxon before I turned seventeen. And Travis had another child four months afterward." With a shrug, Amanda picked up her water glass. "We get along, I guess, mainly because I don't call him on his bullshit. But he's a piece of shit. That's not fair. He's a really good father to his kids that live with him. Jaxon? Jax gets the shitty end of the stick. That's why he's so protective over me. It's been just the two of us since I was sixteen."_

"_Is he always like that or does he just really hate me?"_

"_He hates you, but he's always like that. I think you get it the worst I've seen it though. He's usually more subtle." Amanda had to laugh at how much Jaxon hated Randy. It was actually quite cute. "And the fact that you aren't afraid of him really pisses him off."_

_Laughing himself, Randy sipped on his wine. "He told me he can lift fingerprints off of you, so I better not lay a hand on you."_

_Amanda shook her head at the imaginative control her son had. "Oh did he now?"_

"_So I guess that means I won't use my hands." He had no idea why he turned the conversation, but it probably had something to do with her eyes. She had the most amazing eyes Randy had ever seen. Why didn't he didn't notice those eyes before?_

"_You know how you wait in a long line for a ride and, everybody around you hypes it up so you think it's gonna be great. But when you finally get on it, it's okay but it's over in like a few minutes? Then you have to ask yourself, 'was that ride worth that long ass wait and all that setup?' That's been my experience with men." She really wasn't trying to turn him off, but she didn't have time for a lot of bullshit. She was a single mother with a life that revolved around her son; Randy's interest in her seemed like it was more than getting her in bed, and that was a little more than she had time for._

"_You only say that because you haven't taking a ride with me." Randy's cockiness was usually a blessing and a curse, but the sultry sound of his voice and the way he refused to let her eyes fall from his, he knew damn well what he was doing. Taking her hand in his, he gently ran his finger across her palm. "They're no lines with me. Just one hell of a ride. I'm like an express train with only one destination." It would have come off a lot smoother had he not been smiling. He was serious, but he liked her and he didn't want to push too far. He would gladly give her a night to remember, but if she wasn't ready for that, then she wasn't ready. He didn't know what it was about her, but they just clicked. He genuinely liked Amanda. So, if she wasn't feeling it, that smile could mean he was playing, but if she was, it meant he was dead serious._

_"An express train, huh?" It wasn't like she was new to flirting or that she didn't know a line when she heard one. But she really wanted to find out if he lived up to the hype. She had seen his body in those little wrestling trunks and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to find out if it looked as good in her bed as she thought it would._

_"Yeah." Randy's gaze fell from her eyes to her lips. Were they that plump before? He couldn't remember. "One ride is a straight shot to pleasure like you've never known it."_

_"What if I don't want to ride an express train? What if I want to go local?" She swore her brain was melting with the way his finger was gently tracing her palm. It had been forever since she flirted with someone. And though she thought could hold her own, she found that her eyes were feeling heavy and her voice was steadily dropping to just above a whisper just from feeling his thumb run across her hand. "The local train is nice and slow. It goes to every stop; it takes the long route… shows you all the scenery. You don't miss a thing."_

_"Oh don't worry, this is a long ride. Fast at times, slow others. You will see everything. And anything you happen to miss, I can show you on the way back." If she continued to look at him like that, he was going to have to put her up on that table. What the hell. Why not go for it? "Do you wanna get out of here?" _

_Nodding rapidly, Amanda drained the last of the wine in her glass. She didn't know what the hell she was doing, but all she knew was she was doing it. She wasn't just Amanda, Jaxon's mother; she was Amanda, a woman. And at that point in time, the woman side demanded that she get some attention too._

It was only eight o'clock, but Amanda was back in her apartment and sitting out on the patio with her feet up on the railing, holding her glass of iced tea. That had been the worst date she had ever had. God, Randy would have bust a gut laughing if he saw how boring Brian was. Why was everything always going back to Randy? She wasn't with Randy anymore. All the fun, all the fights, all the making up…it was all gone now. For all she knew, someone else was getting all the Randy that she had before.

Reaching over to grab her cell phone, Amanda smiled because she knew who was on the other line. "Hey Boopie…how's it going?"

"Mom?" Jaxon's teary voice whined through the phone. "I wanna come home."

Amanda put her feet on the ground and felt her heart speed up. Jaxon never asked to come home when he was with his father. "Jax, what's wrong?"

"I hate Keisha. She's so mean to me." His sniffle was enough to break Amanda's heart.

"Why are you around her? Where's your father?" Amanda was going to kick Travis' ass. She distinctly told him to keep that bitch away from her son.

Jaxon closed the bathroom door and sat with his back against it. "I don't know. He dropped me off over here and Grandma took the girls out today. I can't find anybody else." At ten years old, Jaxon knew that he couldn't be disrespectful to Keisha because it would make his father mad. But she had no right to say those things about his mother or about him either. "She keeps calling me names and yelling at me. I don't wanna be here. Can I come home? Please?"

Amanda's adrenaline was at an all-time high. She knew first hand how much of bitch Keisha was. _She_ didn't want to be around that woman, she could only imagine how hard it was for Jaxon. "Jax, I can't get you. It's gonna take me hours to get up there." She ran her hand through her hair and growled. "Lemme call your dad. I'll call you right back, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too." His voice cracked as he cried harder.

No sooner did she hang up with Jaxon, did she call Travis. After the third ring, she was greeted by loud music in the background. "Where the fuck are you? Jaxon called me crying because Keisha is in his shit. Didn't I tell you I don't that bitch around my son?" That usually nice demeanor of a naïve girl that Travis was use to know, only came went away when Jaxon was threatened.

Huffing, Travis walked outside to hear her. "Look, I had some things to do. I ain't gonna be back until Sunday morning."

"Why the fuck would you invite him up there if you ain't even gonna be there?"

"Shit, Mandy…it ain't like I knew about this shit. I got called in to work at the last minute. I'm in fucking Philly, what you want me to do?" He didn't know he was going to work. The security firm he worked for often called him away to different states depending on who he was supposed to be protecting. It was ironic, because he should have been protecting his child.

"You know what Trav? Fuck you. I'm getting my baby and bringing him home."

"That's his damn problem now. You always fucking babying him. Leave that boy alone, he's alright." He wasn't having this conversation. Sure Keisha could be mean, but so what, she didn't mean anything by it. Maybe if Amanda didn't pet him up all the time, Jaxon would be tougher now.

"He's coming home."

"You always do this shit when I finally get him. Do what you want, Mandy. I gotta go."

Amanda hung up the phone and paced around her apartment. If she left now, it would take her over five hours to get to Brooklyn. There had to be faster way to get Jaxon. She didn't want to do this, but she didn't have a choice. Jaxon was more important than the sinking feeling in her heart at hearing his voice. Slowly, she dialed his cell phone and prayed to God that he was near. "Randy?"

Randy sat up straight in the chair and held his breath. He could always tell when something was wrong with Amanda. "Amanda? You okay?"

"Are you near New York?" She had thrown his schedule away when he ended things. She had no idea where in the world he was.

Stepping out the room for privacy, Randy quickly found a seat on the front porch. "I'm in Connecticut. What's wrong?"

"I hate to ask you this, but Jaxon is in Brooklyn and Travis left him with Keisha. He's crying, he wants to come home. That bitch is fucking with him. It's gonna take me hours to get him." She couldn't stop herself from crying. She just wanted Jaxon home and safe. Not that Keisha would touch him, but she would hurt him verbally and emotionally and no matter how tough Jaxon appeared, he was a little boy with a huge, soft heart.

Randy's heart broke. He hated when Amanda cried, it was worse than anything he had ever been through in his life. "Why would Travis leave him? He knows how she is…"

"I don't know. I can't get to him…"

"Calm down, baby. I can be there in an hour." Randy stood up, totally prepared to get his belongings and pick up Jaxon. "Call him and tell him I'm coming. I'll have him home soon okay? Don't cry."

"Thank you." If nothing else, she knew Randy would take care of Jaxon until he was home with her. "I'm sorry I got you involved."

"Don't be." Randy made his way back in the house and stuffed a few items in his bag. "I'm leaving now. I love you." He didn't mean to say it. They weren't together anymore, but it had never been truer. He loved her, he couldn't help it.

"I love you, too." Shit. Why did she say that? He didn't love her or he wouldn't have broken her heart. Just when she was getting over him, now she was going to have to see him again. It didn't matter though, Jaxon was more important.

"Mommy?" As soon as she clicked over she heard her son's broken voice on the other line. "Please come get me."

"Baby…Randy's on his way, okay? You're gonna be home soon."


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: So I know I disappeared for a minute, but my real life has been a little crazy and I haven't had much motivation to write. This chapter turned out to be 15 pages, but I cut it down drastically. Hopefully it doesn't read really choppy. _

_Right now TheRealKellyAnne is on vacation and when she comes back, I'll be leaving for mine. This will probably be my last update for a few weeks on this story. As always, we thank you so much for reading and all of your wonderful reviews. Look forward to more once our summer vacations are over. Hope you enjoy!_

_**This chapter contains sexual content.**_

Randy Orton walked up the steps to the Brooklyn brownstone and held his breath. He had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side, but he took it as a good sign that everything was quiet. Although that little voice in the back of his head told him that silence wasn't always a good thing. As soon as he rang the bell, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

He didn't say anything when the door opened, instead, he stepped inside and waited silently in the foyer while Keisha bellowed up the stairs. He raised his eyes toward the sounds of footsteps and nervously clinched his jaw. Just looking at Jaxon's face, his normally yellowish complexion was flushed red, his eyes though now dry were swollen and there was such a downtrodden sadness on his face, broke Randy's heart. He still didn't say anything, but he held his arms open and closed his eyes when he felt Jaxon run up to him and hug him tightly. Closing his arms protectively around Jaxon, Randy leaned down and kissed his head, whispering softly to him. "It's okay, Kid. I'm gonna take you home." He wouldn't ever admit it to Jaxon, but Randy missed the hell out of him.

It was hard to get his bag from where Jaxon had dropped it on the floor, mainly because Jaxon was still clinging to Randy with his head buried in his side. Jaxon didn't want Randy or Keisha to see him cry, but Jaxon was glad that Randy was there. He missed Randy, even though he was pissed at him for hurting his mom. And the fact that Keisha was still yelling at him and saying things about him in front of Randy; Jaxon didn't want it to show that she hurt his feelings.

For Keisha to be such an attractive woman, she had the ugliest, bitchy attitude that Randy had ever seen. She was tall, with a light brown complexion, short dark hair and hazel eyes. She had beautiful full lips and the shape of her eyes was amazing. And though she always looked put together, as soon as she opened her mouth, her neck would start to roll and the most ghetto of shit would come flying out. That had to be what Travis liked about her, only Randy couldn't understand that. She was so different from Amanda. How could a man that had been with someone of Amanda's temperament be so attracted to this evil, nasty woman standing in front of him? "Keisha, what's the problem? Why do you always gotta start shit with him?"

Keisha placed her hand on her curvy hip and sucked her teeth. "No you didn't just come up in _my _motherfucking house asking fucking questions. You don't like how I talk to him then tell him to stay his little punk ass home. I don't want his little high yellow ass up in here anyway." Keisha crossed her arms over her chest and drummed her manicured nails against her arm. "And that bitch got a nerve calling you to come pick him up. Fuck her. I don't know who the fuck she thinks you are, running up in here like fucking Mighty Man and shit. Like I'm gonna do something to him. Fuck all y'all…little punk ass."

Randy had to fight the urge to ball up his fist and keep his arm at his side. If Keisha could use that tone of voice toward Jaxon with him standing there, what in the fuck was saying to and about him, when it just her and him? No child, no matter how bratty or irritating deserved to be talked to that way. For eight months, Randy had to deal with Jaxon's other family and frankly he was fed up. "What the fuck is your problem? You don't talk to him like that; he's a little kid."

Randy could feel the muscle in his arm jerk, but stopped it when he looked down and noticed Jaxon pulling on him toward the door. "Can we just go? Please?"

Jaxon was right. There was no sense in arguing with a woman like that. The longer Randy stayed and argued with her, the more hurtful things she would say and the more uncomfortable Jaxon would become. It wasn't worth it. Never taking his glare off of the woman in front of him, Randy bent down and picked up Jaxon's bag before putting his arm around the boy and walking out of the house.

The sound of the front door slamming behind them was the last either of them heard as they started the long ass car ride from Brooklyn to Baltimore. Keeping the radio down, just in case Jaxon decided he wanted to talk, Randy concentrated on the road ahead of him. It had never been this hard to think of something to say to Jaxon before, but now he found himself at a loss for words. "Did you eat? Are you hungry?"

Jaxon nodded.

Passing the highway sign, Randy looked over at the child and frowned. "Well, there's Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's…what are you in the mood for?"

Again, Jaxon didn't have anything to say. With a simple shrug he answered Randy.

Randy took the next exit and headed up the road. Since Jaxon wasn't being much help, he decided that the first fast food place they came to was where he was going to stop. "Burger King it is." Wheeling his Hummer into the drive thru, Randy took the liberty of ordering. It really wasn't any sense in asking him what he wanted. Whenever they went to Burger King, he had always gotten the same thing; chicken fries meal and a medium fruit punch. Handing the bag of food to Jaxon, Randy at least felt a weight lift off of him when Jaxon opened the bag and started to munch on his fries.

Jaxon couldn't stop thinking that he finally got a chance to eat in Randy's truck. For months Randy had been dead serious when he would tell Jaxon there was no eating his truck...ever. Even if Jaxon tried to sneak a bag of chips in the back seat, Randy would catch him in the rear view mirror and would pull over, kick Jaxon out of the truck until he finished eating. "You want some?" Jaxon lifted his eyes at Randy long enough to see the older man shake his head and he returned to his task of eating his dinner.

Randy always shook his head when it came to fast food. He would always pretend that he didn't eat that stuff. But every time they would go out to a fast food restaurant and both Amanda and Jaxon would ask if Randy wanted some, after he declined he would always reach over and take a bite of Amanda's sandwich and steal a few of Jaxon's fries.

"I wanna talk." Randy gripped the steering wheel with one hand, while the other hand made its way into Jaxon's bag and brought a hand full of French fries out with it.

"I don't want to talk about Keisha."

"I don't want to talk about her either. I want to know if we're still friends." It hurt him not to be able to talk to Jaxon everyday, even if most the time the conversation was about the fact that Jaxon thought that Randy was the worst wrestler ever to lace up boots.

Lifting the straw to his lips and taking a big sip, Jaxon lowered his eyes to his bag. "No. Not anymore."

"I thought you wanted me gone." If only Jaxon understood that Randy did what he thought was right. He ended things for them. Finally, he did something with everyone else's best interest in mind. And somehow, it still wasn't right.

Jaxon turned his head slowly and looked at Randy confused. What the hell was he talking about? "I didn't want you to date my mom. That didn't mean I wanted you to leave. All you had to do was apologize, but you screwed that up."

"Kid, what happened between me and your mom, is between us. You shouldn't be involved in it." It still amazed Randy how easily frustrated he could get with Jaxon. He had come a long way from not being able to be in the same room with him for more than an hour, but Jaxon had this kid logic that Randy couldn't for the life of him understand. "You need to let grownups be grownups. And you need to remember that you're a kid…"

"And maybe if _you _stopped acting like a kid, I wouldn't have to act like a grownup." It wasn't that hard to understand. Jaxon's mother loved Randy and he was just being a jerk. If he said he was sorry, things could go back to how they were. "You don't understand…I've taken really good care of my mom since I was a kid. And I kinda felt like she didn't need me to take care of her anymore when you came around. I trusted you to do my job. But then you made her cry…now I have to be the man of the house and protect her. It's my job to make sure that no one makes my mom cry."

"Jaxon I didn't mean to hurt her…"

"It's too late now anyway. She's dating somebody else."

Randy's brows knitted in frustration at that statement. How in the hell could she just date someone else? They hadn't even been broken up for a month yet. She didn't care about him at all? Here Randy had been heart broken and fucking up on purpose because of his anger at the situation, and Amanda just picked up and started seeing another guy? "She is?"

With a nod, Jaxon leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. "Yeah. She had a date with some jerk named, Brian. I wasn't there to screen him though. Don't worry; it won't last long, not after I talk to him. But they'll be another one. And I'm just gonna have to get rid of him, too. I'm not ever gonna let somebody else hurt her feelings the way you did."

Randy drove silently down the dark stretch of highway, noticing that Jaxon had fallen asleep. He kept replaying it in his mind, _'She's dating someone else.'_ Randy wanted her to be happy, but he wanted her to be happy with him, not some random bastard who just waltzed in and reaped the benefits of the amazing woman that Randy helped to bring out of a girl that hid behind her responsibilities.

He couldn't stop thinking about what Amanda's first date was like. If it was anything like theirs, Randy was sure he was never going to survive his broken heart.

"_Mom? Am I lactose intolerant?" This was the fourth phone call in ten minutes that Jaxon had made since Randy and Amanda had been back in her apartment. It was all part of the plan. If Jaxon kept calling, Randy wouldn't try to kiss her. If he had to call every twenty seconds, he would. But now he was running out of things to ask her._

"_No, Jax. Good night. Happy New Year, and I'll talk to you in the morning." Amanda rolled her eyes at Randy wouldn't stop laughing. She tried to warn him that Jaxon was the biggest cock-blocker on the planet, but he didn't believe her. "Don't call me anymore, unless it's an emergency. I love you."_

"_Fine." Jaxon gave up defeated. He had just hoped that his warning to Randy was taken seriously. He would find out if that chump laid a finger on his mother, and if he did, he would be sorry. "I love you, too."_

_As soon as Amanda turned toward him, Randy let a huge smile cross his face. "Is it wrong that I find comfort in the fact that I piss him off?" He hated children. Knowing that he could rile Jaxon up to the point that he was willing to sacrifice enjoying his time with his friends and family, made Randy a little giddy. Or maybe it was the fact that he was sitting next to Amanda on the couch and Jaxon wasn't there to interrupt them, that made him feel like that. _

_Amanda smiled and kicked off her shoes. "Yes, it's very, very wrong." She shook her head at him and suddenly felt warm when his hand touched her cheek. She had been wondering what it was like to kiss him for some time now, and as soon as she felt his lips on hers, she sighed. "It's about damn time." She mumbled when he pulled back and before she had another smart ass comment, his lips were on hers again and his tongue slowly teasing at hers. _

_Randy couldn't quite remember feeling a woman this much. Amanda was smart, funny, independent, and pretty, despite Jaxon. What was there not to like? And because he liked her, he made it a point to make this really good for her. He remembered that she told him it had been years since she was with a man. He couldn't understand that, but he could see how getting swept up in being a mother and sole provider would put a damper on her sex life. _

_He was slow, gently applying his weight to her to have her leaning on the couch. Never taking his lips from hers, he had successfully pushed the shoulders of her dress down far enough to expose her black lace bra to him, without popping the zipper in the back. If he stopped to have her stand up so that he could remove the dress, he ran the risk of having her get cold feet. Randy wasn't taking that chance. Instead, he dealt with what he had to work with. He gently lapped at her chest, still covered by her bra while moving his hands up her inner thigh._

_Amanda closed her eyes determined not to think about anything else but what Randy was doing to her. She wasn't going to worry that Jaxon's school uniforms were still in the washing machine that needed to be dried, or that one of Jaxon's teammates was having a New Years Day party and she hadn't gotten around to making the Taco Dip. Amanda wasn't going to let anything else ruin her concentration. Not even the ringing of the telephone, which she knew was sending Jaxon into a tizzy because he couldn't get a hold of her. _

_She wasn't sure how, but Randy's hands were slowly moving her underwear to the side and hiking up her dress at the same time. He was actually quite talented. But what showed even more talent than that was his tongue gently teasing her. At that point in time, she didn't care if that damn Lord & Taylor dress set her back two hundred dollars. That shit was in the way and Amanda managed to lean up enough to reach the zipper and get it started and pulled at the sleeves to get that sucker off. _

_If there was one thing that Randy was good at, it was smooth transitions in sexual situations. There could have been the awkward moment where he stood and got undressed, but why stop a good thing? He simply took off his tie, unbuttoned and removed his shirt, kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants, never once letting his mouth lose contact with Amanda. "Which way is your bedroom?" He looked at her flushed face and had to fight the urge to pound on his chest, caveman style. He knew he was good, but the look on a sexually starved woman's face, made him feel primal. _

_Amanda had to fight her brain for the appropriate answer. Why did they need to go to her room? They were doing just fine on the couch. But in the end, she pointed to the left, while still trying to get her thighs to stop shaking. _

_Randy wrapped her legs around his waist and leaned over to pick her up from the couch. It really didn't take much effort, but trying to kiss her and walk with her with his pants falling off of his hips, proved to be a challenge. But Randy liked challenges. It still didn't stop him from leaning her up against the wall by the bathroom and kissing her and taking his hands that held her bottom to slowly pulling down her panties. _

_He could have done whatever he wanted as far as Amanda was concerned. She was getting laid, she had no complaints. By the time her back made contact with her mattress and felt Randy's weight on her and his legs nudged between her thighs, did those damn second thoughts kick in. "Do you have something?"_

"_I'll be careful." Randy had been with a number of women and he knew how to protect both he and his partner. To his credit, he didn't have any children and he really wasn't interested in making any. _

_Pulling his head from the bend of her neck, Amanda looked Randy in the eye. "I'm all my son has. I don't want to catch something and not be around for him. It's not worth it to me." No matter what her body needed, Amanda's first priority was always her son. So what she hadn't had sex in years. If it meant protecting herself from some horrible sexually transmitted disease, just so she would still be around for Jaxon, then she would remain celibate for the rest of her life. _

_Randy smoothed the pad of his thumb over her chin. Her loyalty to Jaxon was by far the most attractive quality he saw in her. Lord knows he didn't understand how she could put up with that boy everyday, but that's why he never had children. When he nodded his head, Amanda felt her fears start to dissipate. And in that awkward moment when Randy reached onto the floor to dig into the pocket of his slacks, she removed her bra and looked at the ceiling while he did what he needed to do. _

_Randy was right, he was slow at times and fast at others. He took his time, dragging out each thing he made her feel, so she could feel them for as long as possible. He seemed to really have grown accustomed to the space, right in the bend of her neck because he couldn't stop sucking on it, no matter how hard he tried. And her fingers, scratching his back and chest…it was enough to make him want to keep doing what he was doing just so she wouldn't stop. "You like to be on top, right?" Randy's breathy question surprised even him. He had actually been listening to her when she was talking to him. At the time it was just innocent flirting, but now he was searching his brain for any other little piece of information she had given him. _

_It had been a long time since Amanda felt like she was anything more than Jaxon's mother. And truth be told, the last time she had gotten laid, it wasn't very good. Not that she hadn't ever enjoyed being with Travis before, but that time was a mistake, one that she wished to hell she could take back. But after seven years of not being with him, that one night, she thought things would have been different. They weren't. He was still Travis and she was still Amanda and that night had caused so many problems later. But with Randy it was different. He took his time, letting her figure out what it was that she wanted and needed. She felt beautiful, feminine, desirable…it sounded crazy to her, but she felt like a porn star. And she loved that feeling._

_It wasn't until the sounds of the fireworks going off from the Harbor exploded through the air, did Randy lean over and smile at Amanda. "I was kinda hoping that I could stay here tonight. I just don't want to be alone."_

"_I was hoping you'd say that." What in the hell was she getting herself into? She had no idea, but all she knew is she didn't want Randy to leave. She wanted to enjoy him for as long as she could and if she had to put the deadbolt on her door and swallow the key to keep him there, she would. _

"_Happy New Year." Randy's lips gently brushed hers and he knew for sure that after that night, she would have a hard time getting rid of him._

_Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

"_What the hell are doing under my mom's bed?" Jaxon stood in Amanda's doorway with his arms folded, glaring at Randy Orton who was crouched down on all fours looking for something. "If you're looking for the valuables, they're not under there."_

_Randy never looked up, instead he reached under the bed and grabbed what he had been searching for. "Actually, I was looking for my other shoe." _

"_Why are your shoes under the bed?" He didn't want to know the answer to that. Jaxon knew that if he left his mother alone with Randy he would never be able to get rid of him. And by the way Randy moved around Amanda's bedroom, that schmuck was making himself a little too comfortable. "MOM!!!!"_

_Amanda walked slowly like a scolded child up the hall to where Jaxon was standing nervously tying her robe. Jaxon wasn't supposed to be home for another couple of hours, but somehow he had convinced his grandmother that he needed to be there. It's not like she and Randy hadn't enjoyed each other several times during the night and a few times more since they woke up. But did her mother really need to drop Jaxon off right when Randy was four inches from her waist and his tongue was steadily trailing downward? "Yeah?"_

"_Why is he still here? And why is he in your room?"_

_Amanda watched as Randy sat on the bed with a huge smirk on his face. She knew he was eating it up, watching her squirm under Jaxon's scrutiny. "We got back from dinner really late and Randy was tired. Instead of having him drive all the way back to his hotel, he stayed the night."_

_It was a crock of shit and Jaxon knew it. Only if he called his mother on it, he was going to get grounded. He turned his head slowly and narrowed his eyes at Randy, the redirected his gaze back to Amanda. "So why are his shoes in here and not under the couch?"_

_Randy didn't mean to laugh, but he couldn't help it. However the look that Amanda shot him was enough to make him stop. "I'm sorry." _

"_You know how sometimes, when you're sleeping and you get up to use the bathroom…and you just end up cuddling up with me, in my bed? Well that's what Randy did. He just didn't want to sleep alone. He just wanted to snuggle." Amanda put on her most sincere face as she lied to her son. It was over his head what actually happened. And though she knew that she was the parent, she still felt like Jaxon deserved an explanation._

_It made sense, although Jaxon still didn't trust Randy. There had been many a night where Jaxon cuddled up with his mom. He liked sleeping in her bed. She had a pillow top mattress, warm blankets and she always wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Sleeping with Amanda was great, but that was Jaxon's privilege. With his brows knitted and a pout on his lips, Jaxon sighed. "Well then Randy needs to go home and snuggle up in his own mom's bed."_

_Watching Jaxon stomp down the hall and subsequently slamming his door behind him, Randy looked at Amanda with sad eyes. "I'm gonna go."_

_She nodded. Though she didn't want him to leave, it was probably a good idea. Without saying anything, she walked Randy to the door and stopped when he leaned her up against it. _

"_I'm going back on the road the day after tomorrow. Can I see you again before that?" Long distance relationships didn't work. Dating a woman with a child didn't work. But at that moment, Randy didn't give a shit. He just wanted to see her again. He would do anything to see that smile again and then to feel her lips on his. If Jaxon wasn't in his room, he would have taken her up against the front door. But he restrained himself, for her sake. "I'll call you later."_

_As soon as the door closed, Amanda leaned up against it and sighed. The voice in her head knew she was in trouble with Jaxon, but the butterflies in her stomach from Randy didn't really give a shit._

Randy closed the door with his hip and hoisted Jaxon up in arms. He was only ninety-five pounds, but he was dead weight when he was asleep. There was no way, Jaxon was going to wake up and the way he nuzzled his head into the bend of Randy's neck just proved that point. Making his way up the flight of stairs to the apartment that Randy had spent so much time in, Randy looked up to see Amanda standing there with fresh tears glistening in her eyes and smiling sadly at her son.

"Is he okay?"

Nodding, Randy walked past Amanda and stood in the living room, still holding Jaxon to him. "He's fine. Where do you want me to put him?"

"In his room." Amanda hurried past Randy to open Jaxon's door and over to the bed to turn down the covers. As soon as he was laid down, she removed his shoes and pulled the covers up over him. She whispered to her son that she was glad he was home before kissing him on the cheek. And now that Jaxon was tucked in, she knew she would have to talk to Randy.

Something in Randy's mind told him that he should leave, but he couldn't. Instead, he stood in the living room, giving Amanda and Jax time together. As soon as she resurfaced, he had to stop himself from pulling her into his arms, so he stuffed his hands in his pockets so that he wouldn't give into temptation. "I fed him…he had Burger King."

"Thanks." This was so awkward. Just looking at him hurt. And did he have to smell the way he always did? Did he have to wear those jeans that did very little to hide his thighs? Why did the sleeve to his t-shirt cling to his bicep when he ran his hand over his chin? Why was she still so in love with him? "I just didn't know who else to call." And those tears, though they started for Jaxon were now reserved for him.

Randy didn't think, he just walked over to her and held her. He missed her just that much. With his lips pressed against her temple, Randy sighed. "Don't cry, baby." And before he knew it, he was kissing her, just like he always did when she cried; soft kisses on her forehead, each cheek, her nose and finally on her lips.

Amanda pulled back from Randy confused. It was wrong. He didn't want to be with her. He didn't have the right to hold her or comfort her, not when he was the source of her pain. "I think you'd better go."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Sorry it has taken so long to update this story. TheRealKellyAnne and I have been crazy busy lately and we were both suffering from a bout of writer's block. But we got this chapter done and chapter 10 is almost complete! Ha! Slow but steady wins the race._

_Hope you enjoy and thanks for all of the support you've shown us and this story!_

* * *

"Mandy…" 

Amanda had a temporary moment of weakness. Everything that had transpired that day all came crashing down on her at one time. From the date, to the phone call from Jaxon, to arguing with Travis, to calling Randy…Randy. That's what it really was. Randy. Hearing his voice on the phone, knowing that he still cared, then seeing him hold her son in his arms, making everything better just by being there; that's what fucked her up. It felt right to have him hold her and that kiss – feeling his warm lips on hers, soothing away all of her fears. It felt almost like Randy was home.

No. One moment of weakness was all she was going to afford herself. She wasn't doing this. What right did he have to waltz back into her life and turn it upside down again? All she did was ask him to get her son, in no way did that translate into letting him back in to hurt her again. He made his bed; he decided they were over. She wasn't about to let him renege on that decision, even if she wanted him to. The only way to get over him was to make a clean break. Even if the thought of him walking out of that door and never seeing him again made her tears fall faster, it had to be done. "You need to leave."

Randy felt her step out of his embrace and instantly his hands went back to his pockets. He didn't mean to make her uncomfortable, but this was just as hard for him as it was for her. He loved her. He wanted her back even if he knew it wasn't for the best.

Amanda had never voiced her opinion on _his_ decision to break up, and though she had told him to leave, she had to get a few things off of her chest. "You have a lot of fucking nerve." This was a bad idea. She shouldn't even be entertaining what was on her mind, but she had to. Part of it was to keep him in her sight for just a few minutes longer. Part of it was to finally say all of the things she had been holding in. Part of it was to hurt him as badly as he had hurt her. And of course, there was the part that secretly hoped that he would take her words to heart and try to fix whatever it was that went wrong between them.

Randy sighed and turned around. This was what he had been waiting for. When he ended things he had been hurt that she didn't protest at all. But now, he knew he was going to have to listen to exactly what was on her mind. Remaining silent, he leaned up against the wall and looked at his ex-girlfriend.

"You think because I asked you for help that means things go back to how they were? In case you forgot, Randy, you left me." Wrapping her arms protectively around her body, Amanda found the strength to let him know exactly what he had done to her. She wasn't going to come off as weak, but he had to know that what he did was threatening to tear her apart.

"Amanda…"

"For a month I've been sitting here trying to figure out what went wrong. I've been trying to figure out what I could have done differently." She watched as Randy shook his head as if he was going to interrupt, but she wouldn't let him. Running her hand over the tears on her jaw, Amanda lifted her head and looked in him the eye. "And I can't come up with anything other than you're an asshole. Why in the hell did it take you so long to realize that I was cramping your style? Why did you put us through all of this shit and make all of these damn promises if you didn't intend to keep them? How could you get my hopes up and talk about us having a future, if it was all bullshit?"

"It wasn't bullshit." Randy's voice came deep and cutting across the otherwise quiet room. "At the time, I thought this was what I wanted." He couldn't tell her the truth. He in no way wanted to implicate anyone else in his decision to break it off. If he could make her hate him she wouldn't blame herself. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but it seemed inevitable. "I changed my mind."

"You changed your mind. You changed your mind? What the fuck does that mean? You don't get to change your mind. It doesn't work that way. You hadn't changed it when you told me you loved me the day before you left me. It wasn't changed when we made love that night. Or was that a lie, too?" She had meant it. She meant every one of the promises they made to each other while wrapped up in each others arms. She meant it when she told him she was the happiest she had ever been. She was telling the truth when she told him she loved him. But this asshole suddenly changed his mind about everything. How the fuck did that work, anyway?

But it wasn't a lie for him. He did love her and he meant it when they made love. He had been trying to find a way all week to tell her that it was over but every time she smiled, or snuggled next to him he was convinced that he was making the biggest mistake of his life. And when he finally did tell her, he instantly regretted it. "I don't want a family, Amanda. I'm twenty-eight years old. I'm not ready for this." He watched as Amanda's shoulders shook with a sob that made him feel like he had been punched in the stomach.

Her sad face turned angry and Amanda took a step closer to Randy. "You knew from day one that I had responsibilities and they didn't seem to bother you when you were trying to get laid. I told you over and over again, that I didn't have time to get caught up. I told you that I was fine with this being a casual thing, but _you_ had to pursue it. Was this the plan? Get the single mother to trust you and then watch how fast you could fuck up her world? I was lonely, Randy, not fucking desperate. I wasn't trying to trap you. I wasn't trying to force you to be anything more than my boyfriend. I just wanted you to be with _me_." Poking herself in the chest, she reiterated just who he was in the relationship with. "Me, Randy! ME! What fucking family are you afraid of?"

His plan of trying to make her angry worked, but more than that, it made him angry because he was blatantly lying to her face. He didn't mind being a part of her family. It actually gave him something to look forward to when he came home from the road. He liked the idea of having Amanda and Jaxon meet him at the airport and having family dinner with them. He wanted that. He missed it.

He wanted a life with Amanda _and _Jaxon; he loved them. He looked forward to doing laundry and cooking dinner for Amanda when she had to work. He didn't mind getting up to take Jaxon to school. Everything that Amanda had done all of this time by herself, he wanted to do with her…for her. He wanted to be a family man. And the moment that he realized how much he loved them he knew it would be hard to walk away.

"This…" He signaled his hand around the room, indicating that _her_ life was too complicated for him. "I don't want this."

Amanda couldn't believe the shit that she was hearing. What in the hell did Randy mean that he didn't want all that she had? He knew damn well what he was getting himself into from the very beginning. "You selfish bastard! I told you before that I didn't want to get too close or have you around my kid if this was just something for you to do. Jaxon and I are a package deal. You knew that!"

And the words started fly out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Is that what you told the new guy?" The anger flashed across his face, but he wasn't backing down from the hurt look on Amanda's. "For a fucking month I've been dying inside but you can just start dating again? Tell me Amanda, how broken up were you about us? Because it seems to me that you're getting along just fine. Does this new guy make you happy? Is he everything that I'm not? Did you play that disinterested card and make him work harder to get to you? Did you give him the single parent speech so he'd know to be gentle with you? Did you tell him about Travis and get him to wonder how in the hell anyone could walk out on you? Did you fuck him and make him feel like he just wanted to take care of you?" He didn't want to know the answers to any of those questions. He just wanted to know how bad the idea of her dating someone else hurt. "Don't stand there and try to make me the bad guy, like I didn't care. _You_ didn't fucking care. Cause you wouldn't be out whoring around while your kid was being treated like shit, if you did." As soon as he said it he wanted to take it back.

She didn't know when she made it across the room to where he was standing, or how her hand contacted with his cheek. "Get the fuck the out of my house!" She didn't care if she was yelling or if she woke Jaxon up. At that moment, she honestly didn't remember that he was asleep in his bedroom. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Don't you ever question my loyalty to my son?"

"I'm not questioning your loyalty to Jaxon. I'm questioning your loyalty to me. You wanna know why I ended it? Cause you're a fucking liar, that's why. You spent all this time talking about how you just wanted someone to be there for you…That you just wanted a man to share your life with. You let me think that you cared about me, because you were feeling me as much as I was feeling you. But that was fucking bullshit, cause you didn't want _me_. You just wanted a father for your kid. And you know what? I don't wanna be his fucking father." Being an asshole and making her hate him was the only way to end this. He couldn't stand the idea of her crying over him. If she could hate him, she could move on. But God did it hurt.

The sound of the door made Randy look up from Amanda's face. He didn't mean anything he said, and especially not for Jaxon to hear them. "Kid, I didn't mean that."

Jaxon didn't care if he was crying. Randy's words hurt. Before Amanda could hold him back, he charged at Randy the strength that a ten year old possessed. "You asshole! Get the hell out of my house and stay away from my mom! You're not my friend. I hate you!"

Kicks, elbows and a one strategically placed fist to the gut landed into Randy before Amanda managed to pull Jaxon away. This scene was wrong. Her son was hurt, her heart was broken, and Randy stood there looking like he had just lost his best friend. How could one decision fuck up three people's lives so badly? "Get out of my house." She didn't even look at him as he knelt to pull Jaxon into her arms and soothe her angry son. As soon as she heard the door close behind her, she put on a smile and wiped Jaxon's tears away.

This was what she didn't want to happen. This was exactly why she never wanted to get involved with anyone. It wasn't just her anymore. She was a mother first and foremost and none of her needs, no matter how aware of them she was, came before Jaxon's.

_Amanda sat on the couch trying to only concentrate on the feel of Randy's thumb running across her palm and not look at the clock. It was already after two, which meant Travis was two hours late. There was no way in hell she and Randy were going to make it to Ski Liberty by three to keep their reservation. Randy tried his best to convince her that she would love skiing, not that she was completely sold on the idea. Going down the side of a snow covered mountain with two sticks on her feet and sticks in her hand to keep her balance still didn't seem like the smartest thing in the world to do. But she knew she was going to love being with him in their room. She really could care less if they were going bungee jumping, as long as they were going to get to be in the hotel room together, alone. _

_Looking over at Jaxon's packed bag sitting at the front door, she let out a groan. This was so typical of Travis. Why did she think that just this one time he would actually come through when it came to their son? As soon as the phone rang, she closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn't need to look at the caller-id; she already knew who it was. "Hello?" _

_"Hey, it's me." Travis' voice was muffled behind the background noise. "Look, tell Lil' Man I ain't gonna be able to scoop him up. I got Taj and Tyree with me, but tell him we'll get him something from the game." _

_She could feel her brows knit in frustration at the absurdity of it all. Who takes a two year old to a football game in January when it's ten degrees outside? Who knowingly hypes up a Giants/Patriots game to a kid that's the biggest Patriots fan on the planet and then calls two hours before it starts to say he's not coming? Travis, that's who. "You have got to be kidding. Why do you keep doing this? He has his heart set on this." _

_"He'll be alright. He can watch it on TV. Just tell him I'll see him in Florida." _

_Randy's hand moved from Amanda's palm to the back of her neck as he tried to massage away her tension. He tried to keep his anger to himself, but he was sure it was written all over his face. He still didn't know what it was about her that sucked him in, but she was definitely different from the other women he had met in recent history. Normally, he would meet a woman, take her to bed and never think about her again. Not Amanda. For the two weeks that he was on the road, he called her everyday, several times a day, and they would talk for hours. He wanted to know everything about her and he was most impressed that she didn't seem to give a shit about what he did or how money he made. She thought he was interesting for no other reason than he was him. So when he went to Vince and begged for a Monday off to take Amanda away for couple of days, he didn't think anything of it. But now this fuckhead, Travis, was going to ruin the alone time with Amanda that he so desperately wanted. _

_"I'm not telling him shit. You tell him. You tell him that once again, you pumped his head up and you're gonna a no-show." Suddenly annoyed by the feel of Randy's hand on her neck, Amanda stood up. "Why don't you just not say anything if you know you have no intentions of keeping your promises? You always do this shit." _

_"Is all this for Ole Boy's benefit?" Travis' volume increased to the point that Amanda knew Randy could hear him through the phone. "I don't give a fuck if you were supposed to have your little date with dude or not. Something else came up. I ain't gonna be able to get him. Point blank." _

_Jaxon walked by the couch, purposely kicking Randy's ankle as he made his way over to where is mother was standing. "Is that Dad?" Watching his mother nod, Jaxon felt the sinking in his stomach. _

_Randy couldn't quite describe why or how he felt looking at Jaxon's crestfallen face. Was he feeling sympathy for the kid? Lord knows he didn't like Jaxon and Jaxon didn't like him, but it didn't stop that all of those feelings from coming back to him. No kid deserved that, hoping against hope, knowing that chances were your father wouldn't come through but still hanging on to the fantasy that this time would be different, feeling. Randy hadn't been a kid in a long time, but the feelings were just as fresh as they were when he was nine, looking at Jaxon's face. _

_Amanda couldn't even be in the room while Jaxon talked to Travis. She was so pissed. How in the hell could he constantly break Jaxon's heart like that? Never mind her disappointment at not going away, Jaxon's face was enough to make her forget that she had other plans. This shit had to stop. She had to put her foot down one day, but she really didn't think that Jaxon could handle knowing just how sorry his father was. Not yet, anyway. Walking back into the living room, she raised her brow at Randy and Jaxon on the couch. They weren't arguing or hitting each other, but just sitting quietly, keeping their hands to themselves. "I'm sorry, Jax." _

_Shrugging his slumping shoulders, Jaxon let out a sigh. "It's okay. I can watch the game on TV. Besides, Dad's gonna make it up to me. He said after my tournament he's gonna take me to Universal Studios." He turned around on the couch to look his mother in the eye. Mustering up his best excited look, he smiled. "We're gonna have a blast. He said we might even do Disney and Sea World, too." _

_Amanda couldn't break his heart. She knew that if Travis couldn't drive from Brooklyn to Baltimore to see his son, there was no way in hell he was going to make the trip all the way to Florida to spend two hours at a tournament. But the excitement on Jaxon's face was enough to make her keep her quiet. _

_"You're gonna need a camera." Randy's voice rang out from nowhere making both Jaxon and Amanda turn to look at him. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable for speaking, Randy stammered for an explanation. "For Universal. You're gonna wanna to take pictures." _

_Amanda shook her head at Randy so that Jaxon didn't see it. She knew this Universal thing was just more smoke that Travis was blowing up Jaxon's ass and she knew that Randy knew it, too. Why would he feed into it and get Jaxon all excited? Men were fucking idiots. "Jax, you know your dad may not be able to make it to Florida. He may have to work…" _

_"Yeah, but he'll still need the camera for when he's backstage at Raw." Randy's cocky smile broke out on his face before he could stop it. _

_"Go get your coat." Amanda watched Jaxon walk out of the room and turned her attention to Randy. "What do you think you're doing? Don't fill his head up with more false promises. He gets enough of that from his father." _

_With a shrug, Randy walked over to Amanda and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "Look, this is fucked up and I know it. Trust me, my dad use to do this shit to me all the time when I was a kid and my mom made every excuse in the book for him. Your kid isn't stupid; he knows what his dad's doing. But I tell you, if my mom had somebody to help her out so it didn't hurt as much as it did, I probably wouldn't be as bad as I am now." He batted his lashes to make himself look innocent. "We're in Florida the same time you guys will be there. It's nothing for me to get him to come backstage. If his father comes through, then he's just getting one hell of a vacation. If he bails, at least the kid still gets to do something fun." _

_Watching Jaxon walk in the living room confused, Randy nodded. "And who knows. He may want to take some pictures while he's on the slopes." It wasn't often that Randy was considerate and at that moment he really didn't feel like what he was doing was such a big deal. If he could have gone away with just Amanda, he would have. But why waste a perfectly good hotel room, skiing and a chance to spend time with a woman that he was feeling more than any other that he had ever met? "So Kid? You know how to ski?" _

Walking quietly up the hall, Jaxon stopped just outside of his mother's door. It had been well over an hour since his mother kicked that asshole, Randy, out of their house and sent him to his room, but she hadn't come in to talk to him. Was she that disappointed in his behavior that she couldn't stand to be in the same room with him? He was doing his job; he was protecting her. But what if that was their way of getting back together and Jaxon had just ruined it for her? According to Randy they only broke up because of him anyway. He hadn't meant to drive him away twice.

He knocked softly on the door, before poking his head in and the sight made him tear up again. Amanda was sitting on her bed with a wadded balls of tissue scattered over the mattress. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, he cheeks were flushed and her shoulders were shuttering. "Mom?" He made his way over to the bed and straddled her legs so that he could hold her. "I'm sorry he left because of me." Feeling his mother cry on his shoulder forced the tears out of Jaxon's own eyes. "What's wrong with me? Why doesn't anybody want me?"

Amanda pulled back to look at her son. "What are you talking about, Jaxon? I want you, Boopie." With a shrug, he fixed his eyes to the buttons on her shirt. "Dad doesn't want me. If he did, he wouldn't always leave me somewhere and he'd actually show up when says he's going to. Randy doesn't want me, or he would've stayed. I want you to be happy, but you can't because of me."

Fuck Randy Orton, this was a bigger problem than him. "This thing isn't your fault." Wiping away his tears, Amanda tucked her pain away and concentrated on taking away Jaxon's. "We're a team. You can't have one without the other and if no one understands that, that's too damn bad. It's you and me, Jax, just like always."


	10. Chapter 10

Stepping carefully over clothes and tennis shoe boxes, Adam Copeland made his way to the balcony. There was no need to pull back the sliding glass door, as it was already wide open. As soon as he stepped onto the concrete surface he had to shake his head. "Drinking your breakfast again?" He pulled out one of the plastic patio chairs and slouched back against the seat.

Randy barely tilted his eyes toward the sound Adam's voice. Instead he tipped his beer bottle to him in salute. "Lunch," he corrected.

"You look like shit." Adam leaned into the table folding his hands on the smooth glass surface. This was getting out of control. Everybody was talking about it now. Randy Orton was on a downward spiral and no one really knew why. "When's the last time you took a shower? You smell like ass and cigarettes." His normally impeccably groomed appearance was shot to shit right down to the scruffy full beard he was now sporting. "And what's with that shit growing on your face?"

Randy shrugged and reached over for his cigarettes hoping that if ignored Adam long enough he would just go away. He didn't want to talk about what was bothering him. He didn't want to think about it his damn self. But he couldn't help it. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Jaxon's teary face running toward him and the words, _'I hate you'_ coming from his mouth. That was the last thing Jaxon said to him. I hate you. Damn.

Adam knew the more he talked the less Randy would have time to dwell on whatever was eating him. He really had no clue what the problem was, only that one of his best friends was going through it. "I thought you got suspended. Why are you still here? Go home."

"Am I bothering you? Why don't you leave me alone?" He hadn't invited Adam to his hotel room and he really didn't need the lecture. He was dealing with his own shit his own way. He didn't push when his friends were having a rough time, why couldn't they give him the same courtesy? "Did I say shit when you were dealing with Amy leaving and you were moping around like a little bitch? Just mind your business."

Reaching over to grab a beer from pack on the table, Adam shook his head. "Since when did you start drinking fucking Mickey's? Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?" With a skeptical glare at the miniature bottle in his hand, Adam opened it and took a long sip. "This tastes like warm piss."

"Jesus. Would you shut the fuck up?" Randy knew this tactic well. Whenever Randy didn't want to talk, Adam always forced him to by nagging him into a conversation.

His plan was working. Shooting a wide smile toward his friend he took another sip from the bottle. "You could have at least put this shit on ice." He raised his eyes toward Randy noticing how he started to pick at the label on his bottle and hold his cigarette between his fingers. "When did you start smoking again?" Feeling Randy ignore him, Adam leaned back in the chair and looked at the junky hotel room behind him. "Shopping spree? You know they do have malls in St. Louis."

"What the fuck do I have to go home to?" Randy had been determined he wasn't going give his friend any more information about what he was going through than what he already had, but he'd be damned if he didn't open his mouth. "I got two big ass houses that are getting bigger by the minute. It's fucking lonely there. At least here I can be around people."

"Yeah, because you're doing such a good job at being social right now. You're barricaded by Addidas and Nike boxes in your hotel room. And when you do manage to come out it, those you don't offend by the way you smell, you bite their damn heads off for asking how you're doing. What the fuck is going on with you?" Finally he was getting somewhere. John's method of coddling Randy hadn't worked; pissing him off was the way to go.

What wasn't wrong with him? He had lost Amanda _and_ Jaxon. He hurt them. He missed them. It was fucked up. "I'm supposed to be on a field trip to The Smithsonian right now. Amanda couldn't get off." All he could think about was Jaxon being there on his trip alone. His chaperone wouldn't take him away from the group and run around the museum with him. Whoever's parent's group he was in wouldn't pick him up and let him touch the exhibits behind the ropes. It wasn't fair to the kid. Jaxon's time at The Smithsonian was probably sucking ass.

His problems with Amanda were fucked up, but they were adults. Jax was a kid; a kid that Randy had hurt for no damn reason at all. It was amazing that a few months ago he couldn't stand to be in the same room with Jaxon, now all Randy could think about was how he was getting on without him. If Jax was doing anything like Randy was, that child was fucking miserable. And that made it hurt even worse.

_"Hey, babe." Randy smirked struggling with the bags in his arms. "I did some shopping." _

_  
"I can see that. What in the hell did you buy?" _

_With a shrug, Randy wrapped his arms around Amanda, praying like hell that she couldn't tell how fast his heart was beating. He wouldn't tell her, but he was terrified at the idea of being alone with Jaxon. What if he broke him, or did something that was considered child abuse? Or what if Jaxon asked him questions about God or breast implants? How in the hell was he supposed to deal with that? "Just some stuff to keep the kid busy."_

_Amanda looked around at the amount of bags and folded her arms over her chest. "Randy I'm going to the spa, not on a two week vacation. How in the hell much stuff do you need to keep him busy?" This was a bad idea. Leaving Jaxon with Randy was like letting him stay by himself. Randy was just as much of a child as Jaxon was. _

_  
"Why does he have to watch me?" Jaxon stomped across the floor folding his arms across his chest. "He's an ass. And why do you need to go to a spa? You don't need a makeover. I bet that's just his stupid way of saying he wants you to look skeezed out like the Divas." Jaxon flopped on the couch and folded his arms across his chest. _

"_Do you even know what skeezed out means? And I'm sick of telling you about your damn mouth." Amanda rolled her eyes at Jaxon then turned back to Randy. "Sorry about that. You have my permission to duct tape him to the chair if he doesn't get his shit together."_

_Curling up his lips and narrowing his eyes at Jaxon, Randy to nodded."We're gonna be fine. You're only gonna be downstairs if there's an emergency." Randy kissed her quickly and opened the door. "I'll see you at the arena later. Just go to security and they'll take care of you. Have fun." The spa trip had been a little surprise from Randy. He had racked his brain for weeks trying to think of something special he could do her for their one month anniversary. He figured that were already in Florida because of Jaxon's tournament, he should do something really special for her while she was there. It was the perfect gift. The only problem with it was there was no one to watch Jaxon. Against his better judgment, Randy took one for the team and volunteered.  
_

"_Jax, let's pretend that I taught you how to act, m'kay?" She looked over at her son who was glaring at Randy. "I don't want to have to catch a charge when I come back." Kissing Randy quickly, she muttered 'good luck' before heading out of the door._

_Jaxon stood at one end of the room and Randy at the other glaring at each other. This was truly going to be the longest day in the history of the world. "So look, Kid, I got some stuff..." Randy pointed to the bags on the floor._

_  
So what he got him a few toys? Big deal. "Do you want a medal or a chest to pin it on?" Jaxon never understood what that phrase meant. It was something that his dad always said. _

_This wasn't going quite like Randy had hoped, but he was determined to make the best out of this situation. "You can take it or leave it." Randy walked past Jaxon and made himself comfortable on the couch. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Jaxon gave in._

_Huffing, Jaxon picked up a bag from the floor and opened it with disinterest. A confused look danced on his face. Surely this particular bag must have been for someone else. He put that bag back on the floor and then picked up another. After the third bag, he turned to see Randy sitting there with a stupid proud look on his face. "Dude, are you kidding me?"_

_Randy didn't miss the disappointment on Jaxon's face. "What?" Randy made his way over to where Jaxon was standing. Jaxon still didn't say anything, he just looked at this Randy with this look that said that he thought Randy was an idiot. "Come on, Kid. I'm trying here. I didn't have to buy you all this crap." He reached into a bag and held up a game. "This is some good shit."_

_Jaxon had just about enough of Randy. What in the hell did his mother see in him? Not only was Jaxon sick of him always talking to his mother, he was sick of him spending time at their apartment, his damn grin and now he this? This guy had to be have been the biggest asshole on the planet. "Dude, you suck. I should so piledrive your ass!" Jaxon shouted. _

_  
"What the hell is your problem, Kid? Here I'm trying to make you happy with all of this shit. I spent more time and money than I wanted to in a damn toy store, and all you can say is, I suck. Well you know what? You suck. Any other kid would be happy." Why did people have children? Randy may have been a child once, but he was sure he didn't act like that. _

_  
"These are baby toys." Jaxon threw the Tickle Me Elmo across the room, before reaching in the bag for another item. "And Candy Land? Give me a freaking break! I haven't played this since I was like four!" Jaxon moved over to another bag and dumped out the contents. "Chutes and Ladders? Guess what dude? I already know how to count to 100!" Jaxon let out a frustrated growl and stormed over to the couch and picked up the Xbox controller and turned the television all the way up._

_Randy looked at the games dumbfounded. He thought Jaxon would love playing Candy Land. Hell, he loved it when he was a kid. At least Jaxon hadn't gotten to the Wiggles DVD or the Play Doh, that might have really set him off. "Baby toys?" What in the hell did Randy know about kids? Jaxon was a baby to him. He whined like a baby. He still played with toys, didn't babies do that? This parenting shit was harder than he thought. _

Randy had given up. Amanda had only been gone for fifteen minutes and already it felt like an eternity. "What are you doing?" Randy grabbed the remote and lowered the volume. 

"_I'm kicking your ass." Jaxon continued to pound on the controller as John Cena beat the living crap out of Randy Orton on the television screen. If he couldn't take Randy out in real life, at least he could get his revenge this way._

"_Oh yeah?" Randy leaned over to the game console and hit the reset button. "We'll see about that." Grabbing the second controller, Randy bucked at Jaxon's annoyed face. "Say something." If he couldn't beat the shit out of the real thing, he would at least whip Jaxon's ass in the video game. "Bring it on, Kid." _

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
_

"_So when do I get to meet Cena?" Jaxon looked around the arena with huge eyes. He couldn't believe that he was finally backstage. He couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and tell his friends that Candice Michelle had kissed him on the cheek and told him he was handsome. He was sure his friends would shit egg rolls when they found out that he had met Carlito, Triple H and Jeff Hardy. And though he loved those guys, he was waiting for the man. John Cena was the one thing that would make his night complete._

_Randy shrugged and started to remove the contents of his bag. The rest of the day had gone great. He and Jaxon played video games, ate pizza, argued over football and even had pleasant conversation on the way to the arena. All in all, Jaxon was an okay kid. He wasn't nearly as much of a cock-blocking little bastard that Randy thought him to be. "I don't know. He's around here somewhere." Looking at his watch, Randy cracked his neck. "Look Kid, I gotta get changed and warm up."_

"_Go ahead. I'm fine." Jaxon didn't want to leave the weight room. He would have much better luck meeting more of the wrestlers if he stayed put. Besides, he didn't want to be in the same room when Randy changed and watching him warm up when John Cena was somewhere around the arena was stupid. He could cover much more ground without Randy being his shadow._

"_Alright. I'll be back in a few." Without thinking twice, Randy left Jaxon in the weight room alone. _

_No sooner did Randy leave did John walk in. He vaguely remembered meeting Jaxon before and he had heard enough about him from Randy that he knew who he was right away. "I gotta shake the hand of the man that's busting Orton's balls. Jaxon, dude, you're my hero."_

_Jaxon's throat went completely dry. John Cena was talking to him. "You know my name? Oh my God, John Cena knows my name!" Jaxon squealed like a little girl. _

_With an amused look on his face John reached out his hand to Jaxon. "Man, you're a legend around here."_

_Jaxon shook John's hand and felt his face get hot. He was a legend. John Cena said that he was his hero. It didn't get any cooler than that. "Mr. Cena, can I get your autograph?"_

"_I'll do you one better. How about we go down to catering and get some dinner while the warden is away? I'll introduce you to some of the guys." John opened the door and watched as Jaxon walked under his arm. It was better than leaving him in the weight room alone for God knows how long. Randy had been known to be premadonna and he could be gone for a long time. It was the least he could do to help Randy out and keep Jaxon from being bored off his ass. "You gotta tell me some stories of the things you did to Orton."_

_Randy had already combed the backstage area twice and Jaxon was still no where to be found. He was only gone for ten minutes. Who gets themselves lost in ten minutes? He tried his best to keep his cool, but that arena was huge. For all Randy knew, Jaxon was huddled in a corner somewhere scared to death and crying his eyes out. Or worse, he could have somehow made it to the seats and got lost in a sea of people. What if some psycho kidnapper was in the crowd? "Hey Hardy? You seen the kid I was with?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but the tightening in his throat made it sound a edgy._

_Moving his earphone back off his ear, Jeff Hardy shook his head. "The last time I saw him he was in the weight room." _

_Randy could feel the sweat start to form on his brow. How could have been so stupid and leave Jaxon? If anything happened to him it would be his fault. Not only would Amanda kick his ass, but the guilt would eat him alive. Would the FBI think that he was a suspect when they came looking for pictures to put on the milk carton? Would John Walsh set up a task force at Randy's house? The idea made him nauseous._

_As Randy sprinted down the hall toward the security office he could only imagine Jaxon being somewhere hurt, scared and alone. He ignored the sounds of the techs telling him that he would be up in fifteen minutes. He didn't give a shit about his job at that moment. The only thing he could think about was Jaxon. He would give anything to hear Jaxon call him a loser, or for the little boy to bug the shit out of him. He could feel the tears well up in his eyes at the idea of never hearing that again._

"_Yo Orton, where's the fire?" John Cena rounded the corner with a big smile on his face._

"_The kid…" Randy panted out. "Shit, man…I don't know where he is." He sounded like he was about to cry. Randy ran a shaky hand through his hair and tried to collect his thoughts. "I looked everywhere. He's lost or somebody stole him. All I had to do was watch him for one day and I fucked it up. What if something happened to him? He could be hurt…"_

"_Calm down, man." John stepped forward and put his hand on Randy's shoulder._

"_I can't fucking calm down! You don't have fucking kids. You don't understand. I fucking blew it. I let him down. I let him snatched up or something. If he's all fucked up it's my fault. I was supposed to look out for him…"_

_Jaxon rounded the corner with Melina and Mickie James on both arms. "What's wrong with you?" Randy looked like crap. He was all sweaty and shaky and yelling like a lunatic. Before he could say anything else, Randy had engulfed him in a tight hug leaving the boy stunned. "Why are you hugging me?" _

_Randy knelt on the ground holding Jaxon close to him. He took a second to look Jaxon over from head to toe and hugged him again. "Are you okay?" The sound of his voice was a mixture of relief and pain. Randy didn't even think he liked Jaxon, let alone what he was feeling at this moment. "I looked everywhere for you." _

"_I'm fine." Jaxon didn't know what else to do. He wrapped his arms around Randy's shoulders and hugged him back. This was the first time that he had ever felt that he was more to Randy than just his mother's son. "Really."_

"_You scared the shit outta me. I thought I'd never see you again." And at that moment Randy realized how much he cared about that little boy; even if he was a pain in the ass. _

"So…why didn't you tell her what was going on? Why'd you just end it?" It took a few minutes after hearing the entire story for Adam to speak. He knew that Amanda and Randy had broken up but he didn't know why or that shit had gotten to the point that it did. The entire situation was truly fucked up.

Randy knew he shouldn't have said anything. The last thing he needed was confirmation that he had ruined the best thing that ever happened to him. "Have you been fucking listening? I told you why. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"For who? From what I can tell you're all fucked up because of this shit." Now that the problem was out in the open it was time to find a solution. Adam reached over and grabbed Randy's pack of cigarettes before Randy could pick them up. Without a second thought he chucked them over the balcony. "What do _you_ want?"

"My fucking cigarettes."

"Too bad. You fucked up, you fix it. Cause this feeling sorry yourself shit ain't helping anybody." Standing from his seat, Adam drained the last of his beer making a face when it was finished. "You want your family back? Get off your ass and get 'em. But take a fucking shower first, asshole."

Running his hand over his face Randy knew that Adam was right. It was time to do something about what he had done wrong, only he had no idea what that was. How was he supposed to rebuild what he destroyed with Amanda and regain Jaxon's trust? He didn't know where to start, but he had to figure out a way to try. He would give it his all and by chance if he was successful in getting them back, he swore he would never lose them again.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thump. Thump._ Amanda lifted her head from the table stared into nothingness before dropping it again on the hard wood surface. _Thump._ Could it get any worse? Shaking her head back and forth, never lifting her forehead from the table under it, she closed her eyes and prayed that she would disappear.

She had managed to drown out the sounds of her co-workers bustling around her, the soda machine dropping cans, and the putrid smell of salmon cakes being heated in the microwave. Now, if she could only manage to drown out Dia's voice…

"Mandy, I know you hear me." Dia stood with her hand on her hip watching her friend bang her head on the table. "What the hell is wrong with you? You look like you should be wearing a helmet and riding the short bus."

Despite everything else in her life that was going wrong, Amanda felt herself smile. It was the first smile she'd managed in a few hours. Wrapping her sweater firmly around her body, she sat up and looked at her friend. "D, I fucked up." She shook her head watching as the last person left the break room before she continued. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Pulling out a chair, Dia sat next to her best friend and looked at her seriously. "Girl, I'm sure it's nothing that a few hours at the club can't cure."

"Not this time. DJ Boobie can't make this all better." Amanda leaned forward in the chair and resumed dropping her head onto the table again, groaning at the impact.

Raising her brow in irritation, Dia pulled Amanda's head by her hair and laughed. "You're embarrassing me. And I'm not letting you make another excuse for not hanging out. I know Moms will watch my boyfriend so we can go out. I'm telling you, you _need _to get over this 'what's his face' shit. And the way to do it is at the club. Fine men. I mean straight up hotties. Let 'em buy you a drink, shake your ass a little bit and take one of them young boys home and fuck the taste of Randy out of your mouth." For a month she and Amanda hadn't done anything together. It was different when Amanda and Randy were an item. Dia respected that and could deal with clubbing with both of them. But now Amanda was a free agent. Why should they have to sit at home, looking stupid if they weren't together anymore? She missed her friend and she couldn't wait to hang out like they used to. "Besides, I doubt he's sitting at home banging his head on a table looking as foolish as you do."

"I'm pregnant, D. How in the hell?" Shaking her head in disbelief, Amanda closed her eyes when she admitted it out loud.

Dia folded her hands on the top of the table and fully evaluated the impact of the statement. Two simple words had just changed everything. "Brian?" To her knowledge he was the last guy Amanda had gone on a date with. From the story she got from Amanda he wasn't her type. But it wasn't like Dia never hooked up with guys that she didn't really like.

"Please. I never slept with him. And besides that was two weeks ago."

"Oh my God, Travis?" Dia's nostrils flared at the thought of it. "Didn't we go through this shit before? The last time you hooked up with his stupid ass you thought you were pregnant. I swear he's like Sonny Corinthos with his mutant sperm. And what the fuck are you doing fucking around with him again?"

Burying her face in her hands, Amanda sighed. A lecture from her best friend was truly not what she wanted. All she wanted was to disappear. "Do I look that stupid to you? Don't answer that." She noticed Dia's expression and smiled. "I didn't sleep with Travis. I'm not that damn desperate."

"Then…oh shit. Asshole?"

Nodding, Amanda let out a scream of frustration. "It was getting easier. I don't think about him all the time anymore. I don't cry as much now. Things were falling back into place. Even Jax seems okay…" The smiling face of her son flashed before her and Amanda's eyes grew wider. "Jaxon is gonna kick my ass. What am I gonna do?"

"You're gonna tell that bastard what's up…" 

"Uh-uh. No. I'm not telling him shit. I haven't talked to him in weeks. I have nothing to say to him." Amanda crossed her arms over her chest and pouted defiantly like a child. The last thing she was going to do was to call Randy, looking desperate or like she was trying to trap him.

Dia leaned back in her chair and pulled her cigarettes from her pocket. She started to pack them against her palm mumbling something under her breath. "What the fuck do you mean you don't have anything to say to him? How about, 'Hey Asshole you knocked me up, I want child support?'"

"You can't smoke in here." Amanda knew Dia and when she was pissed she didn't give a shit about rules. "D, he doesn't want kids. _You_ remember what it was like with him and Jax in the beginning. Even if they did become friends, he doesn't want or like children. And I don't want anything from him."

A feeling a dread crossed Dia and her hand reached out and touched Amanda's. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I've raised Jaxon damn near by myself and I've done a damn good job. I don't need Randy, Travis or any other man to help me. I can take care of myself and my kids." She stood from the table and held her head high. "I gotta get back to work."

Now that she had convinced Dia, she just hoped that she could convince herself.

_It seemed like it took forever but Jaxon really didn't mind Randy always being around. In fact, there had even been a few occasions when he would ask his mother when Randy was coming over. It was that Florida trip that had changed everything. But, it was more than Randy losing Jaxon at the arena. That next day, Travis conveniently called and said he couldn't make it to Jaxon's tournament. It didn't seem like anything was going to raise Jaxon's spirits. And Amanda had tried everything. Promises of video games, new tennis shoes, and hanging out at the pool all day didn't work. Nothing would shake Jaxon from the funk that he was in. It even got so bad that he swore he wasn't going to compete. This was the fourth tournament that his father had missed. Not once had Travis ever seen Jaxon compete. His little heart was broken and there was nothing that anybody could do to change that._

_But then something wonderful happened. Randy showed up with John Cena, Edge and Jeff Hardy. He hadn't told Amanda or Jaxon that he was coming or that two of Jaxon's favorite wrestlers would be there, too. Amanda had never seen Jaxon so happy, nor had she ever heard four people make so much noise over her son. _

_Her boy had the loudest, rowdiest cheering section there. And when Jaxon's Do-Jang won, you would have thought that they were in a coliseum of people watching the US take the gold medal in every event of the Olympics, they way they acted. But what was even better, was the fact that she was with Randy and Randy seemed just as awe struck with Jaxon as she was. _

_Randy had finally earned cool points with her son. He earned a few with her, too, though for different reasons. Randy seemed to rack up the points when he was in town, after Jaxon had gone to bed. There was just something about him that let her guard down. That sexually awkward woman seemed to go away with Randy. Not that Randy was the only person she had ever been with, but Travis wasn't really interested in letting Amanda figure out what she needed. And that other guy she had been with, oh so many years ago, couldn't seem to even get it in, let alone do anything exciting. _

_With Randy it was different. Sometimes, he would just lie there and let her do whatever she wanted. Other times…good lord, she couldn't remember her name when he decided that he had something in mind. And even as great as the sex was, their relationship outside of the bedroom was that much stronger. _

_She didn't know when they became a real couple, they were just were. She found herself visiting him on the road when she could get time off and a babysitter. She and Jaxon visited him at home when he couldn't get to Baltimore. She became a permanent fixture at his work events and even people at the Post Office knew him by name when he would pop into town unexpectedly and stalk her at work. The past six months with him had been amazing and it seemed like there was no end in sight. _

"_Mom?" Jaxon stood at the top of the stairs holding his breath to try to keep from laughing. He knew that he needed to take the stairs slowly, to give his mother ample time to get herself together. Although he didn't know exactly was going on in Randy's kitchen, he knew he didn't smell food and the sounds he'd heard weren't coming from his television. He and Randy may have been cool, but they weren't that damn cool to let him do things that happened in those rated R movies that his mother wouldn't let him watch, but Randy would. "Mom, I don't feel good."_

_Amanda scrambled to find her shirt, pulling it over her head as soon as she heard Jaxon's voice. The last thing she needed was for him to catch her spread eagle on the kitchen counter with Randy doing unspeakable acts, even if she was close to being in heaven. "Randy, move." She whispered, trying to pull her skirt down and hide her underwear, but found it difficult with his big body now standing between her legs. _

"_There ain't nothin' wrong with him." He unbuttoned his jeans and his hand found its way back to her inner thigh. "Go to sleep, Kid." He called up the stairs before kissing Amanda's neck._

_Narrowing his eyes, Jaxon recalculated his plan. What started as a battle for Amanda's affection evolved into a game of who had control over her attention. Randy was a worthy opponent, but he had no idea of the skills that Jaxon possessed. "Shut up, Randy. I'm sick." Finally having them in his sight, he felt like he was going to throw up watching Randy kiss his mother. Why couldn't they just be friends? Randy was cool to hang out with and he really didn't mind the little pecks the cheek or on the lips. But that tongue kissing? That was nasty. "Mom, I don't feel good."_

_Pushing Randy aside, Amanda hopped down on wobbly legs and strolled over to Jaxon. "What' wrong?" She bent to his height and looked him in the eye. Bringing her hand to his forehead she closed her eyes and nodded. "You do feel a little warm. Randy, do you have a thermometer?" _

"_In the medicine cabinet." Randy leaned against the counter and folded his arms looking at how Amanda fell right into Jaxon's hands. He waiting until she had made her way up the stairs before he narrowed his eyes at his young adversary. "How'd you fake the fever?"_

"_Heating pad." A devilish smile crossed Jaxon's lips and he folded his arms against his chest as well. _

_With a nod, Randy addressed Jaxon. "You're screwed when she takes your temperature."_

"_I got that under control. Even if I gotta go to the Emergency Room, I'm not letting you do 'it'." Jaxon pulled up a barstool and took a seat. The look on Randy's face was priceless. He couldn't decide which was more fun, knowing that he won or the fact that Randy's lip was twitching like he wanted to say a few curse words. "Can you make me some hot tea? She's gonna tell me I need tea and honey for this sore throat." He faked a wad of phlegm and cleared his throat for effect. _

_With a huff, Randy took a cup from the cabinet. "Jax, I thought we were friends. Why are you acting like this? Friends don't act like this." Randy filled the cup with water and placed it in the microwave before turning back to see a full fledged smile on Jaxon's face. _

"_We are. She's just not ready to be friends like that with you." And as soon as he heard his mother making her way down the stairs, Jaxon's smile faded and that sad, sick look took over. "Mom, Randy's making me some tea. My throat really hurts."_

_Amanda started to feel the glands under his neck. She didn't really knowing what she was feeling for, but it seemed to be the right thing to do. "Come here. Put this under your tongue. Go lay on the couch and I'll check it in a minute."_

_Picking up his cup of hot tea and taking it into the living room, Jaxon winked back at Randy. _

"_He's so full of shit." Randy slid his arms around Amanda's waist and pulled her close to him. "He's cock-blocking." He wasn't going to rat the kid out and let Amanda know how much she was being played. There was honor amongst thieves in Randy's opinion. But he would be damned if he let Jaxon win, especially not when he was as hard as he was. "I say you give him some Ny-Quil and send his ass to bed and then…"_

"_Crawl into bed with him and make sure that he gets to sleep." She finished kissing his chin. "Randy, he's sick. You didn't feel his head. And I bet you when I go in there the thermometer is going to say that he has a fever." _

"_Because he's probably dunking it in the cup of tea. He's fine." Randy's cheeks puffed out in frustration as he looked absently toward the living room. He heard the television go on and he knew for sure that Jaxon was going to be up for the night. Randy wasn't going to get any, no matter what he said and that look on Amanda's face proved it. "I swear I'm never having kids, unless I can sign them up for boarding school when they're born."_

"_It's not that bad. It's one night." Placing her hand on her hip, she tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. "And after I make sure that Jax is alright, I'll come and tuck you in, too." Hearing Jaxon bellow her name from the other room, she turned her head in the direction of Jax's voice. _

_With a pout on his face, Randy started stomp like Jaxon would have. "But I'm hard as motherfucker now. Feel this shit." He placed her hand on his crotch and wondered why she looked so shocked. "I'm telling you, he's faking."_

"_When you have kids, you'll understand." And with that, she exited the kitchen to find her son wrapped in a blanket staring blankly at the television. But not before she heard Randy calling, "I don't want any!" behind her._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Taking a deep breath, Amanda knocked softly on Jaxon's door. She could hear the grunts and sound effects that accompanied the blows and noise from his television. Apparently he was reenacting whatever he was watching. "Hey, Boopie. What'cha up to?"

"Watching X-men Evolution." Jaxon picked up his Wolverine action figure and had him flip across the bed before making an exploding sound with this mouth. "Wolverine and Sabertooth are in a battle."

Nodding like she knew what in the hell she was talking about, Amanda made her way to Jaxon's bed and sat on the side of it. "Ah, the old Wolverine Sabertooth battle, eh? Who's winning?" 

"Wolverine." Jaxon responded as if there was any doubt about who should win. "What's up with you? You seemed all ick today."

God he was observant. Long gone were the days that Amanda could just lie to him and he'd believe her. The Jaxon sitting on his floor surrounded by X-men figures was not the same little naïve boy that she had been raising. This Jaxon was on the verge of becoming a young man. "I need to have a grown up talk with you, Jax."

"What's wrong?" Getting to his feet, Jaxon took a seat next to his mother and put his arm around her shoulder. He rubbed the back of her neck and looked at her with concern. This was his job: to take care of his mom. No matter what she was going through, Jaxon would be right there to make it better. "You can tell me. We always talk about everything."

"Oh, Jaxon. I wish it was that easy." How exactly should she explain to her ten year old that she was pregnant? Judging from the conversations they'd had before, Jaxon really didn't understand sex and he thought relationships worked like they did on television. There was no way he was going to understand all of this. "Jax…well, we're…I'm…"

"Going to have a baby." He finished for her and looked at the floor when he looked at her in surprise. "I heard you throwing up. It was just like this on Degrassi. This one girl kept throwing up, and then she had a baby. That's what it is right?" He watched as mother nodded and then Jaxon shook his head in disbelief. "Didn't I tell you not to lay down and kiss him? I told Randy you weren't ready for this. So are we gonna have to move in with him, now?"

"What?" When did Randy and Jaxon discuss their sex life? "Jax, it's not like that. It's complicated, but it doesn't change anything. It's going to be three of us and that's it. Things are gonna change a little bit, though. But you're still my baby boy and my best friend. You'll still see your dad when he decides to show up and I'm not going to ask you to babysit or anything like that." Pulling Jaxon to stand in front of her, she took his hands in hers and prayed that she sounded convincing.

A with spark of hope igniting his belly, Jaxon lifted his eyes. "So he didn't leave because of me? Well…you can tell him that I'll help with the baby and I won't cock-block anymore."

"You won't what?" Where in the hell did he learn that? She was definitely removing the Direct TV from his room.

"Randy told me I was a cock-blocker." He shrugged his shoulders not having a clue what that term meant. "But just tell him I won't be anymore and then you can get back together."

There was always hope in the eyes of a child and right now Amanda's child's eyes were breaking her heart. "Jax, we're not getting back together. We're over. There's no chance of it changing. Randy said some pretty mean things and I think he meant them."

"But you're gonna to have a baby. Now you can get back together and you won't be sad anymore. And the new baby will have a dad and not have to only talk to him on the phone like I do with mine. Of course, I'll still make him pay for making you cry but it won't last that long. It'll work out. It'll be like it was before." Trying to hide his disappointment when Amanda shook her head, Jaxon glared at her. "He doesn't care, does he? Oh my God, he's such a jerk. At least my dad sees me _sometimes_, but he doesn't even care. Is that why he broke up with us? You told him and he left." He could see the tears pooling in his mother's eyes and he knew he needed to back off. She was upset, and this wasn't the time to make her feel worse.

"It's not like that, Jax. But me having a baby isn't going to change anything. Randy doesn't want to be with me anymore. It has nothing to do with this."

Randy Orton was an asshole. And if Jaxon saw him again he was going to kick his ass. His mom would need help with the baby and if Randy wouldn't do it, then he would. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll help you. I'll take of everything."

"You don't have to take care of anything, Jax. That's my job. But thank you." Holding Jaxon tightly, Amanda felt the tears slip from her eyes. "We're gonna to be fine. Just the three of us."


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: I finished something! Can you believe it? I haven't finished anything in a hot minute. Sorry for the delay, but that you for your continued interest in this story. _

_I__'d like to thank TheRealKellyAnne. This was an awesome story, honey. Thank you for all the help and the amazing chapters you did._

_With that, we hope you enjoy!_

* * *

The smell of beer and charcoal filled the air, just like the sounds of music and kids running and laughing, bounced around the back yard. It was a perfect day; seventy-five degrees, blue skies, without a cloud in sight. It was still warm enough to wear shorts, but because the weather was starting to break they would all eventually need to put on a jacket by the time the evening rolled around. They couldn't have picked a better day for a party if they tried.

It was only a little after three, and already Jaxon's annual, Party in the Yardy was in full swing. Every year, since he had started nursery school Amanda would throw him a back to school bash at her mom's house. It was always held in late September, giving Jaxon enough time to make a few friends in his class, so he wouldn't feel strange about inviting them over. And it gave Amanda a chance to meet the parents. She had this rule, if she didn't know the parents, Jaxon didn't hang out with the kid. The last thing she needed was for him to be a statistic and end up getting hurt a friend's house.

Plus, being a ham, the Party in the Yardy gave Jaxon a chance to be "the man". He loved to entertain. He loved the attention. There was nothing better than for Jaxon to have all his friends think that he had the coolest mom, and the best toys. After all, it was true.

But today, Jaxon felt anything but cool. In fact, he was down right pissed off.

Amanda sat at the picnic table next to Dia, watching her son as he manned the cooler. He was having a good time until Travis had shown up. Not that he didn't want his father there, but the Party in the Yardy was their special time together. It was a time where Jaxon could brag to his friends about all of the famous musicians his father worked security for. Now that was ruined, because Jaxon didn't get Travis to himself. No, he had to share him with his three half siblings: Akira, Taj _and _Tyree.

"Why in the hell did he bring the Wu-Tang Clan?" Amanda shook her head as she fumbled with the metal tab on the can of Cream soda. "He knows damn well how Jax gets when all of Bebe's Kids are around."

Dia laughed, smacking her friend on the arm. "I guess he was trying to be a good baby daddy and take all them kids off their momma's hands."

"Well, he's gonna have to try a little damn harder." Rolling her eyes at Travis when he lifted a Heineken to his lips, Amanda scoffed, "He makes me sick."

Jaxon had been keeping a mental tab on how many beers his father was drinking. It never failed. Every year after the party died down his parents would get in a huge fight. Mainly because his father would get drunk and start coming down on his mother about one thing or another. Then the next day he would call nonstop to apologize. But Jaxon was determined he wasn't going to let it happen this year. Not on his watch. Not when his mom still had so much other stuff to deal with.

With a quick glance through the patio doors Jaxon peered through his grandmother's house and felt his heart speed up. It couldn't be. They weren't here. Why were they here? He couldn't help the huge smile that spread across his lips as soon as he saw four men make their way outside. "No way!" Running over to John Cena, Jaxon threw himself at the larger man. "Oh my God! What are you doing here?"

"What up, Man? I told you I was gonna come through. You know I love a party." John smiled, shaking Jaxon's hand, before the entire fourth grade crowded him for an autograph.

But Jaxon didn't mind that everyone was stealing his guest, because John had brought Jeff Hardy and Edge, too. Not only were his friends in awe, but a few of them ran up to him and told him that this was the best party they had ever been to and they would make sure that all of the kids in the Upper School, who weren't invited, knew just how cool Jaxon was. It was hard to stick his chest out as far as he was, but Jaxon did so like a trooper.

And just like that, the wind in his sails was deflated, because now stepping out into the back yard was Randy Orton.

He had never been more nervous in his life. Randy wasn't so much worried about how the other kids would receive him. They could hate him for all he cared. He played a heel for a living, it wouldn't be different than any other fan telling him that he sucked. That, at least, would have been easy. There was only one little boy there that he cared what he thought. And the anticipation at his reation made Randy clinch his jaws. "Hey." Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his denim shorts, Randy looked down at the grass. "Nice crowd."

Amanda's heart almost stopped beating. She couldn't do anything but close her eyes, in hopes that when she reopened them Randy would be gone. His friends could stay, but _he _needed to leave. She silently rose from the table and made her way over to where Jaxon and Randy were, but was stopped by the sea of kids trying to get autographs.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jaxon's hands were balled into fists and his normally manila colored cheeks were flushed red. He was pissed. Randy was lucky that he brought all of his friends, because if he hadn't, Jaxon would have kicked his ass. But he didn't' want to embarrass the man. But then again, a butt kicking would serve him right. It still might happen if Randy did or said the wrong thing. "This party is invitation only, and no losers got one. Go home, loser!"

"Look, Kid… I promised you that Cena would be at your party. I just came by to make sure he showed up… and to give you this." Handing Jaxon a gift bag with the Four Horseman action figures inside, Randy turned to nod at John and then headed for the door.

Being a kid Jaxon looked in the bag first. He couldn't believe it. Inside were the original Horseman toys. This would be his prized possession. But it still wasn't enough to make up for what Randy did. "This doesn't change anything. You gave my mom a baby and then you made her cry. Stupid toys don't fix that."

"I…what?" Randy turned around quickly to look at Jaxon's face. Jaxon had a way of bending the truth to his advantage, but he didn't blatantly lie. Did he just say what he thought he did? "What did I do?"

"You heard me. And don't try to lie about it, either. You gave her a baby and then you left. So that makes you a terd in my book." Jaxon looked across the yard at his mother's face and noticed the tears in her eyes. He promised her he wouldn't say anything to anyone, but he was just so angry at the moment. "I'm sorry, mom." Jaxon mouthed from across the yard.

If she could just get by the kids, Amanda would have a chance to calm Jaxon down and talk to Randy. Not that she was ready to talk to Randy, but since the cat was out of the bag, she might as well. But she was stopped when a few of the boys asked her to if they could go in the moon bounce. An adult had to be watching them, and since all of the other adults seemed to be just as fascinated by professional wrestlers as some of the kids were, she had to be a hostess first and a jilted girlfriend later.

A distinct chuckle from behind him made Randy turn around. Sitting in a chair, with a plate of food and beer, was Travis. "You need to take a test…make sure it's yours first. Cause I'll tell ya like this, she tried that shit with me, too. Acting all innocent and shit. I had to make sure that was my seed before I did shit. Y'ada mean?"

"Shut up!" Jaxon yelled, causing an instant hush over the crowd. Even his mother heard him from the other side of the yard. "Don't talk about my mom like that! She does everything and you don't do anything! At least Randy liked to hang out with me. He's a way better dad than you are."

Randy turned toward Travis and narrowed his eyes. "If you ever say some shit like that again, I will fuck you up, in front of your son." Randy raised a hand to stop John, Jeff and Adam from approaching. This wasn't why he was here. But if Travis wasn't careful, he would let his boys take care of his light work.

Walking quickly back into the house to catch up to Jaxon, Randy stood behind him. Without seeing his face, he knew his little buddy was crying. He was just emotional like that. He pretended he was hard, but on the inside, Jaxon was about as soft as they came. Randy admired that, because he was never afraid to say how he felt. "Kid, you shouldn't talk to your father like that."

"What do you care? You just left." Running his hand across his cheek to catch the tears, Jaxon turned around to face Randy. "You made us love you and you left. Why didn't you stick around? I finally felt like I had a mom and a dad all the time. Why'd you go?"

Looking up at the ceiling, Randy tried to control his temper. "Why'd I leave? I did that shit for you! That's what you wanted!" He had never planned on telling Jaxon why he left him, but he couldn't help it in that moment. Seeing him hurt, and hearing that Jaxon loved him like a father, the same way that he loved that boy like his son was enough to break his heart.

"_Where are we going?" Jaxon asked as he continued to push buttons on Randy's car stereo. That crap music that Randy listened to wasn't flying with him._

_Clasping his hand down on Jax's to get him to stop touching his settings Randy wheeled the car into a parking lot. "Shopping." Turning off the key to the ignition Randy took off his seatbelt and faced Jaxon. "Look, Jax. I wanna ask you something." He watched as the young man nodded before taking a deep breath. "I know we've had our competition for your mom and all. And you're a great opponent. And even though you tap dance on my last good nerve, and you're a cock-blocking little son-of-a-…you're my homie. And, I love your mom…"_

"_Get to the point, already." Jaxon interrupted. Randy sounded like he was about to have a sappy moment and he really didn't want to be a part of that. _

_Chuckling Randy nodded in agreement. "Well. Since you're the man of the house, I figured I'd ask your permission." He swallowed hard and braced himself for a screaming match. "I want to marry your mom."_

_Jaxon sat quiet for the first time that afternoon. There was so much to think about. If he said yes, then Randy would be his dad. He'd have a real live-in father, one that didn't have other kids that he paid more attention to. But then they'd have to move away from his friends and live in stupid Florida. But his mom would be happy. But if she got married would she forget about him? Would it just be her and Randy and then would she send him to New York to live with his father? That would mean that he had to live with his brother and sister, and worse, Keisha. Jaxon didn't think he could handle that._

_But, if he said no, it would make Randy angry and break his mom's heart. He'd miss out on the ball games, and having someone besides his mom at his Tae-Kwon-Do tournaments. His mother would get mad and send him to New York anyway and marry Randy without letting him be a part of it. _

_Jaxon didn't say anything. Instead, he opened the car door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. By the time Randy met him in front of the door of Zales he nodded his head. "I get to pick out the ring. And it's going to be the biggest and most expensive ring there is. Like 5 or 6 hundred dollars...chump."_

_Randy resisted the urge to hug Jaxon. Instead, he placed his hand on his shoulder and stepped inside the store._

_

* * *

__This was the night. The night he was going to propose. He was about to leave for a two week stint in Europe, but he didn't want this hanging over him while he was gone. He wanted an answer. He wanted to know that when he came back, his family would be there waiting for him, ready to make plans for them to all be together. _

_Amanda was ironing for Jaxon, getting him ready for school the next day. And Jaxon was in his room, on the phone. It was getting close to nine o'clock, Jaxon's bed time. If Randy could tuck him in by the time she was finished with everything she had to do, Jax would be asleep and Randy could talk to her. He had it all planned out. He was going to ask her when she least expected it, and then they were going to make love all night long. It was going to be perfect._

_Walking down the hall to Jaxon's room, Randy stopped short of the cracked door. He could hear sniffling inside. And when he peeked his head in, he saw Jaxon's tear soaked face. _

"_I hate him, Dad. Why does he want to change everything? He's so stupid. I wish he would just go away." There was a silence and then Jaxon spoke again. "I don't want him to marry mom. Why can't you do it? Why can't you just come down here and tell her that you love her and marry her? I know you still love her. She told me so. She said that's why y'all fight so much, because you still love her and don't like she doesn't need you. She's really not gonna need you with him here. And I did everything to make him go away, but he's too stupid to leave. I hate him."_

_What was Randy thinking? He couldn't propose to Amanda, now knowing how Jaxon really felt about him. This was more than a game for Amanda's attention. Jaxon really hated him. _

_She had told him on numerous occasions that they were a package deal. He couldn't have one without the other. Well he didn't have Jaxon, so that meant, he could never have Amanda. She was going to see how upset by it all that Jaxon was and say no. Randy was going to break up an already happy family unit. He was causing a rift between a son and his mother. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that._

_Randy did the only thing he could do. He stuffed the ring back into his pocket and decided that this would be the last night he would spend with Amanda. He had to make love to her one last time, but after tomorrow, he was leaving. He was ending it to save Jaxon any more hurt, which in turn would hurt Amanda._

_He loved them that much._

"Why are you here, Randy? Every time we get closer to being over you, you've gotta show back up. You wanted to leave…fucking leave. And don't come back." Amanda stood behind Randy with her arms folded. How dare he raise his voice at her son? Hadn't he done enough damage? No one asked him to show up here and cause more trouble. She grew even angrier when Randy shook his head and walked toward the door. "After all, bouncing is what you're good at."

"I'm so tired of being the bad guy. You wanna know why I bounced? I was going to ask you to marry me. Jax and I picked out the ring and everything. But then I heard him tell Travis that he didn't want me to marry you. That he hated me…and he meant it. You expected me to stick around after that shit? I didn't leave cause I couldn't handle it, I left because I didn't want to hurt him anymore." Looking behind Amanda at Adam, who was encouraging him to get it all out in the open, Randy heard his voice crack. He couldn't contain his emotions any longer; the hell with sounding weak. "I love the both of you too much, to hurt you. And you said it yourself. I can't have one without the other. I wanted both of you. But you _both_ didn't want me."

"What?" Turning her head toward her son, she took in his shocked expression. "You did this for him? He's a ten year old boy. Kids hate things one minute and love them the next. Jaxon loves you, even if he doesn't like you. But you broke his heart for his own good? That's bullshit."

"I didn't mean it, Mom. I was just…I just didn't want things to change. I thought that Dad would come down here and make us a family. I didn't want Randy to leave though." Jaxon's sobs were uncontrollable. It was his fault. Randy loved him and his mother no matter what he did to him, but he made him leave. "I'm sorry, Mom."

Making his way over to Jaxon, Randy knelt before him. "It's okay, Kid. You were trying to do what you thought was best for your mom. So was I." Holding the boy tight to his body, Randy closed his eyes and cried silently with Jaxon. This was exactly why he never explained his actions. This was why he lied and said he didn't want a family. Having them hate him was better than having Jaxon blame himself.

"Instead of you trying to guess what's best for me, why not just ask me?" Amanda licked at the fresh tears that were rolling over her lips. "All this time I thought I fucked up somehow. I thought I did something wrong. I thought that you were just an asshole…apparently, I was right about that one. But for Jax? You broke my heart for Jax. Did it ever occur to you that we'd both get hurt by this?"

"I was trying to do the grown up thing. I figured you'd get over it. You'd hate me for awhile, but you'd get over it. I didn't want to hurt the kid."

"Well you did. You broke both of our hearts, instead of talking about it." Reaching a hand out to Jaxon, Amanda accepted her son's embrace, wiping his tears away. "Go with Adam and get yourself together. We'll talk about this later." Amanda walked over to the couch and took a seat. This was too much to take in. All she could do was stare at Randy in disbelief, and found herself calming down at the way he avoided looking back at her. That was such a Jaxon move. Apparently Randy had spent way too much time with her son.

"You know what's funny? I never wanted this. This whole instant family thing." Looking out the back door, Randy notice John and Jeff in a game of touch football. Leave it to his friends to divert attention from him when he was fucking up the most. "Now, it's all I want. I fucked it up, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did."

Randy made his way over to the couch and took a seat next to Amanda. Now was the time to come clean about everything. He would rather it been more private, but if this was what he had to do to get his life back in order, he'd do it now. "I didn't lie. I meant it the last night we were together. Everything I said that night was true. I love you. I love Jaxon. I want a future with you. I never meant to hurt you."

"I'm pregnant." She blurted out. As if they needed one more thing to throw into this big ass mess. But why not? Shouldn't they know everything they were dealing with? "I have one child with a father that only loves himself. And I'm going to have another one by a father that loves everyone more than me. I'm tired, Randy. I'm tired of taking care of everything, and doing it all on my own. I just want someone to take care of me for awhile."

"Let me take care of you." Pulling Amanda to him, Randy wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry, I hurt you. Please, let me fix this." Tilting her head to his, Randy held Amanda's chin between his thumb and forefinger. He needed to look into her eyes and have her look into his. "I got all the time in the world. I'll do whatever it takes to get my family back."

She wanted to trust him. She missed him so much. But she was scared. He had hurt her and she never wanted to feel that kind of pain again. "I don't know, Randy. So much has happened..." But she felt is lips on hers again. And in that instant, she knew that with him was not only where she wanted to be, but where she belonged. "That ring better be huge." Laughing against his lips, Amanda wrapped her arms around Randy's neck and leaned her forehead against his. "I' missed you."

"We're going to have a baby?" Randy smiled from ear to ear, resting one hand on her stomach. "Please let it be a girl, because one Jaxon is about all I can take."

Jaxon walked into the living room and smiled at the sight. Randy and his mom were hugging, even if they were both crying, it was a good kind of cry. Maybe Randy wasn't the perfect guy, but his mother didn't seem to mind. When Randy's eyes met his, Jaxon couldn't resist. He ran over to Randy and hugged him, too. "If you ever leave us again, I will kick your ass."

"I love you, too, Kid." Randy kissed Jaxon on the top of his head as he held Amanda closer. "You guys are my family. I promise I'm not going anywhere, ever again."

Maybe Jaxon's mom liked that corny, loud and wrong type of guy. And truthfully, so did he. Randy was good for her, and to him. And Jaxon knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would be good for the new baby. He had raised his mother the best he could. He had taught her right from wrong. In that moment, Jaxon graciously conceded the job taking of care of Amanda to Randy. She now had two men to make sure that she was happy.

But of course, Jaxon would still be right there to whip Randy into shape whenever he got out of hand.

Fin.


End file.
